Tales of a Shoebox Princess

For the last full day in the UK, we had reservations for the Warner Bros Harry Potter studio tour. We planned for this tour to take up most of the day. Paul and Bethany had recommended it, having taken the tour when they were there. I have a lot of photos--what I'm sharing is only 10% of the total pictures taken.  Our train to Watford Junction. It seems to be a couple steps up from the Underground around London. It was more like the national trains that run between large cities around the UK. Abbie is excited to be there. We reached the station at Watford Junction. We waited for a bus to take us to take us to the studio. Caroline found a "tent". Approaching the studio through the wands The kids with the Elder wand Chess pieces! We're a little early for our tour time.  Caroline likes to be photographed. The cupboard under the stairs.  The entrance to the Great Hall I LOVE THE PUMPKINS So many costumes on display! You are missed, Alan Rickman! Beautiful punch table from...

 On Sunday, we headed out on a day trip to Dover and Canterbury. We got up early and headed for what we thought was the pick-up location. We waited. And waited. Jim made some calls to see what the deal was and was assured that the bus was on the way. After a while, out of hunger, I sought out a pastry shop, but was interrupted by Jim who said the bus was finally there. I think the issue was that we were a pre-pick-up. We were being picked up before the actual gathering spot for the day trip group and I think they forgot about us.  We got to Dover first. Jim and I went to the underground hospital tour, which was wonderful. It was damp and cold in the caves, and we weren't allowed to take pictures. The caves were used for a little while as a hospital during WWII. I can't imagine working underground in dim lighting, being cramped all day long.  After the tour of the cave, Jim and I made our way with Hayley up to the castle area. We'd watched Secrets of Great British Castles ...