Oh wow, there you are Fun London!

London! I’m back! Did you miss me?
I’ve been so busy here in London, I haven’t found the time to write!
I allowed myself to sleep in, do some laundry, and wander the Camden Markets for a while. It was the perfect choice. I finally felt well rested, thanks to the really comfortable beds set St. Christopher’s hostel (Camden location). They even have real pillows, not those pancaked ones you tend to find at most hostels.
Camden Markets. Just go. It’s fantastic, touristy, tasty, loud, hot, worth it.
It’s fantastic, because this place has some cool history. Some big fashion designers got their start here. A few of the shops have been around for 20+ years.
It reminded me of being in the crowded markets of Mexico. Every second vendor sells the same thing, you can barter, and if you see something you really like, just get it. You won’t be able to remember where that little place was, with that cute thing you really wanted.
After I bought myself some nerdy bracelets, I decided to take some photos of people that made my time in Camden Markets so great.

Meet Robert. He is the real deal, and the shop was fantastic. Creepy faces everywhere. He was Punk before it became Punk. When I was a teen, London and Punk were synonymous. We had a good chat about Camden and London. What it used to be, what it’s become, and why somewhere like Camden is an important place to have. It was really nice to meet you Robert!
I also met this guy, now I’m terrible at writing down names, but his photography was incredible. After chatting for a bit, I asked him if I could take a photo of him with his booth.

He was more shy that I thought, but he agreed. He was so nice, and he just wanted to share his point of view through his photography. To which, I can totally relate. Thanks dude!
After Camden I went back to the hostel to change, then headed out to Warner Bros Studio Tour London.

Also know as The Harry Potter Tour! Yaaaaaaay!
If you already follow my blog, I may have mentioned a time or two *cough cough* about being a Harry a Potter fangirl. This was fangirl Mecca.
Now, saying that, I have previously been to Universal Orlando’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I like both places for different reasons. The London tour was very much a backlot/museum tour. Whereas the Orlando park was immersive. In Orlando, I felt like I was really there, and could imagine being a part of that world. Here in London you get to stand outside #4 Privet Drive. I thought Uncle Vernon was going to come out an yell at me for loitering on his doorstep.
I got to see the actual props from most of the movies.

The original sets that were still intact.

Dumbledore’s office, and

The Burrow kitchen were my favourite sets.

There was a huge room entirely dedicated to the extensive practical effects, like prosthetics, animatronics, and makeup used in the films. It was incredible.

And I even came face to face with Aragog and

the Basilisk. Lucky for me, the Basilisk had already been blinded.
Anyhow, I don’t want to give away too much, it was just awesome. Also, I got to have Butterbeer again, for the first time in 3 or 4 years. Amazing!
After leaving the Harry Potter tour, I had to wait a while at the train station for a train that would take me back to the Camden area. While waiting, I took a few videos of the freight trains that blow through the station. They were insanely fast, and it was kinda scary, and maybe a little exciting.
The next day, a decided to check out St. Paul’s cathedral as my mom had recommended it. I went in quite far, intending to pay to see it, but at the place you pay, you can almost see the whole thing. So I decided to keep my money and try to get a cheap theatre ticket, which costs £1 less than entrance to the cathedral.
First I walked straight down to the Millennium bridge, which is recognizable from Harry Potter. You can get a great view of St. Paul’s from here. As I was crossing the Thames on the bridge, I spotted the Globe! Well, the recreation of the famous Shakespearean theatre. I decided to check it out. All the tours and performances were sold out for the day, so I took some pictures and headed back across the bridge.
I decided to wander towards Leicester Square where all the cheap theatre tickets are sold, and on the way I saw a poster for a brand new show to London. Shakespeare in Love. After being at the Globe, it was a sign. No really, I saw it on a sign. Hehe. So I decided that was what I should see, if it was affordable. I ended up getting a good seat, which turned into a great seat. There was a guy (who also came alone) sitting beside me, and we decided that at the first chance, we would switch to the two empty seats at the front of the first balcony (dress circle). It worked, and we got premium seats! The show was fantastic! It kept fairly close to the movie, and the cast were awesome. 10x better than Wicked.
After the show, Jamie (the guy sitting next to me), told me he worked on an awesome show called “The Book of Mormon” and that if I had time, it was a must.
I had heard of it, but really only that it was supposed to be funny. I decided to try the “lottery” tickets, of which I didn’t win. Jamie told me that you just show up a couple hours before the show, put your name in a barrel and they draw 20 tickets for the front row. If you don’t win, then you get to line up for returns. So basically, if people return their ticket before the performance, they will sell it to the people in the line for a discounted price. It didn’t look likely, but I stuck it out and scored an amazing ticket for a really good price! Yaaay!
Now, I said that Shakespeare in Love was 10x better than Wicked right? Well, the Book of Mormon skyrocketed to my favourite musical ever within the first 2 minutes. Seriously. 2 minutes in, I was crying from laughing so hard. I absolutely loved it. I don’t care if you’re not into musicals, or theatre. If you get the chance, GO! You won’t regret it.
Thanks London, I liked you better the second time around 🙂