Platform 9 3/4

Friday night we arrived in London and needed a quick activity to fill some time before we went to dinner. One thing I had never done in London was anything Harry Potter related. When I left Europe in 2000, Harry Potter was big but not huge because the movies hadn't started (first one was in the summer of 2001). So there was little to no hype about it in the city. Obviously things have changed drastically since then, there are studio tours and walking tours and of course, platform 9 3/4.

Since it was pouring rain we grabbed a cab to Kings Cross station, about a 10 minute drive from the hotel. After walking around for about 10 minutes we found the short line where a few other HP fans were lined up to take photos with the famed wall.

Here are some of the photos we took:

Steve rocking a Gryffindor scarf

Steve on his way to Hogwarts 

After doing our obligatory Harry Potter fan photos we went to The Parcel Yard - the British pub right there at Kings Crossing station. They had excellent food and and fun atmosphere. The service was a little slow but the food was outstanding. From the appetizer to the dessert to the beer, it was an all around excellent meal!

So Much Travel

It's 9.30am here in the UK. That means in GA its 4.30am.... It's also 10.30 in Belgium and 1.30am in AZ. Hello jet lag! It actually wasn't that bad now that we survived it. So from being up at 8am Saturday, our 8 hour flight here and staying awake all of yesterday we were going for 31 hours with no real rest and only 1 cup of coffee. Just call me super woman! Just don't tell my dentist or my optometrist - yuck!

Now that we've had a walk around town, Steve has found his office & 4 Starbucks within a 5 minute walk from the hotel we're starting to feel normal. Mind you we did go to bed last night at 8.30 our time, 3.30 GA time!

Can I just tell y'all how small our hotel room is! Its MAYBE 30 sq ft! The toilet is separate from the shower/bath and the closet is maybe 2 ft wide! The bed is like a rock and the two measly pillows they gave us are awful. I typically don't complain about hotels but I am kicking myself because it has terrible YELP reviews & now I know why. Hopefully my back won't kill me after a week of staying here.

Last night Steve wanted a beet so we popped into a local pub. Now I don't mean like the Americanized "British pub". I'm talking low ceilings, mismatched chairs, 5 beers on tap and no menu. As soon as we walked in everyone was sating at us & not in a friendly way. In a "who the hell...?" kinda way. Well Steve sauntered up to the bar and ordered himself a cider and myself a beer. Then he handed the guy an American Express. Que face palm! D'oh! The guy had no idea what it even was! And of course we didn't have cash. So we trudged to a nearby ATM and got cash. Not sure Ive ever drank a pint that fast! Plus we paid $17 for 2 beers!