On M&Ms, Legos and Pottermania!

In the summer of 2017, once we were rewarded with our long-awaited June holidays, we hopped on a plane to embark on our journey to London, United Kingdom! Since we enjoyed our London stay in 2013 so much, we thought that we’d make another visit to explore this very special city.

Boarding our plane to London!

We kicked off our stay with a scrumptious meal at a pub a stone’s throw from our rental apartment. The Harwood Arms served delicious pub food, including Scotch eggs, an English specialty! A Scotch egg is a delectable concoction of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and friend to a golden crisp finish. Mmm.... I could eat 10 of them!!!!! YUMMS!

As we explored the picturesque area around our apartment, we discovered that the Chelsea Football Stadium was just opposite and was teeming with football enthusiasts, many sporting bright blue jerseys.

There was also a tiny market nearby which sold exotic fruits in all colours of the rainbow. We had a wonderful time picking out plump, succulent fruits that were in season at the peak of summer. They were fresh and delicious!

But our favourite food haunt was a small Japanese restaurant a stone's throw from our apartment called Don Don. It serves a wide array of Japanese delicacies, including bento boxes and sushi. The atmosphere was really pleasant and the service was FAB! 

Sitting at our favourite spot in Don Don so that Wyn could spot cool cars!

In fact, we had discovered this restaurant the last time we came in London in 2013 and decided  we had to go back! We even took photographs with the amazing chef Hiro. Pretty cool eh?

We rate Don Don 5 Poo-Poo Rockets! If you are looking for some authentic Japanese cuisine, this restaurant is definitely worth a visit.

Besides its delicious culinary options, London also has some AMAZEBALLS  retail experiences! One of my favourites was the largest Lego store in the whole wideworld! As Lego fans who have spent many hours of our childhoods honing our, AHEM!, architectural skills, we had a fabulous time in the Lego store browsing shelf upon shelf of different Lego models.

Zing! Be Very Afraid! I’ve got a lightsabre!

All aboard the Lego Express! 

Another SWEET spot was the M&M store, possibly the place with the largest amount of sugar that we have ever encountered! The store exploded with colour at every corner with rainbow-hued M&M dispensers and M&M merchandise. Although we were constantly tempted by the towering dispensers of delicious chocolate buttons, we decided that they were not worth the massive amounts of sugar they contained!.

Since Ryn had been learning about the two major World Wars in her History lessons and had become somewhat of a history nerd, we had no  choice but to pay a visit to the very fine Imperial War Museum to look at the extensive and fascinating exhibits. History??? Groan... but actually i found that it was a pretty cool place!! 

There were some mind-blowing historical artefacts that Ryn had only read about but here they were before our very eyes! 

Ryn exploring the trench warfare exhibits!

The museum also had some other vehicle-related exhibits that were way up my petrolhead alley! I really couldn't get enough of some creaky old vehicles that had played significant roles in history.

Military planes that were flown during the World Wars!

And how can anyone visit London without going Potter-crazy? For my Potterhead sister Ryn, the Harry Potter-related activities and locations were definitely the highlights of our holiday! We managed to get tickets to the much-talked about play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was really gripping and  brought the wondrous wizarding world to life! 

We also made a special trip to Watford Junction, where the Warner Brothers’ Studio Tour is located. This museum is every Potterhead’s dream come true as it is the closest one can get to the wizarding world! It tells the magical story of how the Harry Potter books were brought to life and made into movie adaptations. The studio tour is now home to the props and sets of the Harry Potter movies and boasts life-size constructions of a plethora of wizarding locations. 

From the Hogwarts Great Hall to Hogsmeade, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, the Ministry of Magic and Malfoy Manor (just to name a few!), Potterheads will simply drool at all these exhibits. The staff were teeming with knowledge about the wizarding world, so don’t be afraid to approach them about anything Harry Potter-related! 

The studio tour certainly kept us devoted Ravenclaws occupied for an entire afternoon, and it is definitely a must-do for all Potterheads. The studio tour had many interactive exhibits that taught us how to cast spells, the camera tricks used to make Hagrid swell to an enormous size and how they made Molly Weasley’s pots and pans move by themselves!

Learning how to duel from the legendary Professor Flitwick!

The humble Weasley abode.

Snape’s dungeon classroom and the door to the Chamber of Secrets that will send chills down your spine.

So all the costumes, sets and special effects were pretty awesome but my all time favourite was pushing my trolley into the wall at Platform 9 and three quarters! This was where the magic began for Harry, who was suddenly introduced to a whole new world that would later give him a strong sense of belonging. We could also climb on board the Hogwarts Express and view the very carriage where Harry would meet his lifelong friends.

All aboard the Hogwarts Express!

The popular Hogsmeade village and a model of the magical Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The studio tour was a wonderful experience for us Potterheads who felt tinges of nostalgia whenever we saw exhibits that transported us to the wizarding world and we simply couldn't bear to leave. (Until our grumpy parents threatened to disown us...) We rate the Harry Potter Studio Tour 9 and 3 quarters out of 10, the one quarter deducted because of the Butterbeer which was disappointingly over-sweetened.

Samuel Johnson once said, “If you’re tired of London, you’re tired of life”. He's so right! I could go there a million times!!! Time to gather more pennies and pounds for our next trip...