Harry Potter Studio Tour

Sunday, May 20th

Bri and I explored the behind-the-scenes making of the Harry Potter films!  We took the train to Watford Junction and from there picked up a special shuttle to the studio.  Once there we were able to see the sets and props actually created and used in the films.  We were also able to learn about how some of the special effects and visual effects were created. They also displayed some of the costumes, and it was fascinating to see all of the detail and the wear and tear of the costumes.

Here are some of the more interesting facts I learned there:

• How to make Hagrid seem bigger than the other actors:
• A 6'10" rugby player would be filmed in his costume, and then the actor's face and voice was dubbed over that.
• In scenes where he was alone, they filmed the actor in a smaller than life scale to make him seem larger.
• They'd have him sit in a chair closer than the other actors to use perspective to their advantage.
• Only one model of the Hogwarts ceiling was built, and all the other shots of the ceilings were computer generated.

• Each broomstick was fitted to the size of the actor/actress. It was made by wrapping real bark around a metal pole and then polishing it.
• Most of the brooms had pedals on them for the actors to use for balance. Some of the ones that moved also had an actual little seat on it.
• There's a Hogwarts crest crafted into the fireplace in the Great Hall.
• There's painted wall murals at either end of the Great Hall that are fainted with Latin Inscriptions and old patterns.

• There were multiple animals used to shoot each of the animal characters. Owls are the hardest to train.
• Professor Umbridge's clothes became a progressively darker pink as she gained power throughout the films. Her supporters also wore progressively more pink, as well.

•  The boys outgrew the beds created for the Gryffindor boy's dormitory, so they had to film the beds at specific angles.

• The Burrow's moving appliances are controlled by touchscreen annomotronics. You can control the speed and the scrubbing actions of the brush on the pot, for instance.

These are just some of the fun facts I learned on the outing! It was great fun seeing how it all came to life on the screen for all of us!

The Alhambra

Wednesday was just as busy!

I went to the Alhambra at 2 pm.
My favorite parts were:

• The side garden right beside the old military fort and the views from its towers.


• The gardens behind the Nazarith Palace. Especially there was an elegant reflecting pool, and you felt like you could get lost in among all of the flower beds.


• I returned to the Generalife and was able to get some great photos, and see more of the palace. There are some elegant terraced gardens behind the palace, on the hill. The whisteria smelled so sweetly and there were hidden nooks with fountains, which added to the sense of timeless mystery.

The highlight was definitely the Nazarith Palace though! I was entranced by the elegant patterns and filigree windows and the ceilings. One ceiling was an interpretation of the starry sky, and used to be mimicked in tile on the floor. A small portion of the original floor is left, becuase the Christians had put a rug over it for a throne. The best part though was finding my friend, the guard, again at the fountain of the lions. Unfortunately, the fountain was under restoration, but it was still amazing. Also, the 12 lions represent the 12 seasons and the 4 channels are the cardinal directions. One of the quarters to the side was the daughter (princess´s room) and later her son´s. it´s the only place in the palace with a Moorish stain glass, but interestingly its a roof and not used for the windows itself. It was amazing. On the opposite side were the wives quarters. The fountain was a gift to the sultan originally.

I got a tour of some of the off-limit portions of the site. I saw the bathroom, and the guard explained how water used to flow underneath and it never smelled. I also saw the baths and he explained how the water would flow throughout. Down below, many of the colors were still quite vivid. Unfortunately, since it was about to close for the day, we had to run through to see it all, but it was still lots of fun! It was truly a unique experience!

FLAMANCO DANCING:

That night I went to the gypsy caves and enjoyed an evening of flamenco dancing. To be exact, it was a local interpretation of flamenco, that´s specific to the Salemanca caves that developed from Flamenco, Indian dancing, and gypsy dancing. It was quite the spectacle, and it was lots of fun!

El Generalife (at night)

Tuesday:





I expected to feel rather sore after my big hike the previous night, but luckily all was well. I woke up at a decent hour (10 am) and went for another free city tour at 11 am. Surprisingly, the city was still just waking up at 10:30! Shops were just starting to open! It made me feel better about sleeping through most of the morning. The city tour covered much of the same area as the previous night, with a few more details, and luckily NO rockclimbing!





The tour ended on the street famous for its TAPAS! I was able to enjoy a couple of drinks, with free tapas provided for lunch. It was a nice and relaxing way of spending a couple of hours. Once the group split up, I went in search of retrieving my tickets for the Alhambra for that night. I also managed to score tickets for the entire site for Wednesday afternoon!





NOCTURNA GERNERALIFE: After a tapas dinner, it was finally time to head up the hill to get a tour of the Generalife (The sultan´s summer palace). Apparently it could be 20-30 degrees cooler in the palace on the mountain than down below! Part of this was achieved by painting the palace and homes white, which reflects the sun. Also the flow of water, cooled the area, and created little cool micro-climates.





The experience was AMAZING! At first I was bummed, because my camera ran out of power, but to not be outdone, I whipped out some paper and a pen and started sketching. It turned out to be the best thing I could have done! One of the security guards noticed me, and took an interest. When he found out that I was a student, he began to give me an indepth explanation of the restoration process and what dated to the Moorish erea and what had been added later in the Christian era. He also talked a little about the planting, as well. Mind you this 45 minute conversation was all in Spanish and I understood about 75% of it! I was so pleased!





Things I learned:

• There were only two trees at the center of the garden in the main famous piazza.




• The beds were level with the groung, not sunken as they are today.




• They used to plant herbs and other fragrant plants...not colorful ones.




• They planted the lower terraces with the food, because it was out of sight.




• There used to be a small path and tiny bridge that connected the fortress of the Alhambra with the Generalife.




• The ornamental oranges seen today are a variety that taste bad, but they used to be edible in the time of the sultan.

• The larger fountains were added later, after the Christians took over, in the style of the Italians. The Moors only had tiny bubbling, gurbling fountians and long reflecting pools. They loved the placid water and saw it as a way of reflecting.

• The Sultan lived there with his 4 wives, and many more mistresses. They had two separate gardens, one for the sultan and one for his wives.

A Granada

I flew out early yesterday morning...aka woke up at 6 am for a 8:30 flight.

I got to Granada at around 3 pm and then took a bus from the airport, and didn´t arrive at my hostel until 4 pm. I was immediately struck by the warmth of the city and the unusual plant life. Each city I´ve been to on this vacation has been completely different, both architecture, culture and flora.

My hostel is great! It has a peaceful inner courtyard. A tranquil fountain bubbles and has comfy chairs to relax in. It´s colorfully decorated with drapping long scarves, in a Moroccan/Moorish style. Best part is that it´s in the Alacin (Moorish Quarter), which is the historic part of the city. It´s close to everything!

After settling in, I wandered briefly around the city. I then ate dinner at a Moroccan restaurant next door and enjoyed an excellent cup of Morrocan tea - Vanilla and Cadimum. I was so pleased that I ordered and talked the whole time in Spanish! After dinner, I returned to my room and met my roommates. It just so happened that one of the girls is actually studying at University of Sheffield, too and lives one building over from me! What were the chances!!! The world truly is small!

Three of us, decided to go on the¨Night Adventure Tour of Granada¨. And boy was it an adventure! We learned some about the local landmarks. We were shown an inner traditional courtyard. We also got taken to some great lookout points to see the Alhambra at sunset! It´s breath taking! Next, we were taken to the ¨Gypsy Caves¨. They basically look like regular houses but they are built into the hillside, so most of the house is underground...hence caves. It´s also where all the traditional flamenco dancing is performed. I´m going to go back for a show tomorrow night! Then the real adventure began! We elected the option that took us up behind the Generalife and the Alhambra. Basically, we scaled the mountainside at night with headlamps! We got some great views and it is truly something I´ll always remember! We finished the tour at midnight and then went for tapas as a group with our guide as part of the celebration for a successful adventure! The tapas were excellent!

A full first evening in Granada!

Buena Pascua! Happy Easter!

I´ll just do a recap of the highlingts.

Saturday:
Dad, Samira and I walked a couple of blocks to where we could watch the gondolas being repaired. It was really cool to see the shop at work, right along the edge of the canal.

A little way away we found a great gelateria, Gelateria Nico, where we got some ice cream later in the day.

We wandered over to the Jewish Quarter, where we heard the Jewish chanting, and ended up having lunch. We had a great conversation talking about Judaism with the local rabi and some other members. It was quite the unique experience!

We did some shopping, and Samira got me a silver gondola charm for my travel charm bracelet. We returned to the same place for dinner as the previous night.

Sunday -- Easter:

The day was rung in with the sound of church bells. As you can imagine in a Catholic country, the city was mostly closed except for some select tourist stores. We went to a Klimt exhibit at a museum off of San Marco´s Square. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. We wandered around the streets and then decided to leave early for the airport since Dad and Samira were flying out that night.

It was a unique and quiet way of spending Easter. I was sad to leave Venice!

Thanks for a wonderful time, Venenzia!

Venice to Venice

To be more specific it was Venice, FL in December/January to Venice, Italy April.

Friday was a travel day. We took a train from Rome's train station to Venice via Florence and Bologna. Every mile of Italian countryside was breathtaking for the 3.5 hr trip. I highly recommend if you have the time, to make this journey via train versus by air or by car (as the car gets grueling after 7 hrs). Every moment I wanted to take another photo of the mountains with tiny Italian towns tucked away, surrounded by olive groves and vinyards. We passed through the Alps and came out on some planes dominated by cypress. I had a book with me, but didn't feel like I could take it out once since I didn't want to miss a single sight!

We finally pulled into Venice in the late afternoon. You arrive across the sea, and pull in with land on one side and azure water on the other. As I exited the station, I wondered if Iàd stepped back in time, to another world. There really aren't words that can justify the majesty and the sheer beauty of Venice, The City on the Sea! I will do my best though. You enter onto the Grand Canal with its famous gondolas and rosy pink buildings and Venetian windows. We took a water taxi to our hotel and passed by the Rialto Bridge. Our hotel is lovely, situated just off of the Grand Canal. Our room overlooks an inner courtyard garden with a fountain bubbling away.

After dropping off our luggage, we made our way to San Marco's Square. There, the piazza buzzed with tourists, but was underlayed by a soft melody from various bands playing various tunes at each of the restaurants that overlook the square. The church, itself, is ornately decoarated with gold and bright mosaics. The domes of the church are truly impressive. The rose tower, that's so iconic towers above all the other buildings. All the rosy pinks are tied-together by the pink glass street lamps that decorate the square and the rest of Venice. The scenes were made all the more lovely and dramatic, as it was sunset on a perfectly beautiful day.

From the square, we made our way to Harry's Bar and enjoyed a cocktail before dinner. We then took the water taxi close to the restaurant. We wandered over several bridges and inner piazzas, struck by its tiny moments of historical grace. The architectural details seem so delicate and yet the decay adds to its charm. Dinner was delicious, at a restaurant Samira had enjoyed on a previous visit to Venice. My favorite part of the meal was a cheese and honey platter, and of course dessert...chocolate mousse and cookies, with a great house red wine!

After dinner, we decided to stroll back to the hotel. We enjoyed admiring the various store window-displays and the serene scenes of boats moored in the light of a full moon.

Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica

Thursday, I toured the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica.

We decided to take a tour with a guide and skip the long line to get in, and get an inside scoop on what everything was.

For those who don't know, the Vatican is considered the smallest country in the world. It also has a great collection of artwork. The majority of the country/city is garden too.

I saw the famous pinecone. According to the guide, it was originally in downtown Rome and was a fountain, but was moved.

The Sistine Chapel was by far the most spectacular of all the sculptures and artwork on display at the Vatican museum. Michaelangelo truly outdid himself there. The ceiling was spectacular. The funny thing was that they said to not take any pictures but everyone was. I even took a few snapshots. The detailing was amazing. He split up the ceiling's large expanse quite sensibly.

After that, we took a look at the other artwork in the museum, but after the Sistine Chapel all else seemed to pale. Although, we did see a lovely rendition of Jesus's resurection. I thought that was very fitting for Easter Week.

We left the museum and made out way to Saint Paul's Basilica. We saw Burnini's sculpture of Mary and Jesus. The raw emotion in the sculptures' faces was breathtaking and the gentle lines of their bodies and fabrics were incrediblely delicate. I also remembered viewing the impressive alter five years ago when I was first in Rome. There are massive twisted pillars that support a balcony. The whole experience was made complete as a service given in Latin was being conducted while we viewed the church. With all the security and the camera crew taping, a part of me wonders if it might have been the Pope! I like to think it was, although I have an inkling that the line would have been much longer.

Dad and I met up with Samira at the Spanish Steps. Along the way back there, we discovered an awesome shop selling Harry Potter and other movie paraphenalia. There was a more extensive collection there than at Harry Potter World! There were Gold Kunuts and Galleons, and a larger selection of wands, and Luna's raddish earrings, among other things. It was so cool!

Anyways, Samira Dad and I went back to Samira's friend's appartment where we were going to spend the night. We had authentic Roman pizza at Remo's Restaurant with some friends of Samira's. Apparently, it's the only one with good enough pizza to warrant patronage of Roman locals. The food was delicious! It got my stamp of approval.