Harry Potter Studio Tour

Okay so I love Harry Potter!

I am not totally obsessed with Harry Potter or anything but for some reason this year I have ended up visiting 3 Harry Potter Places..

In April I visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at Universal Studios Orlando.

Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross

 

And on Sunday my friend Kate and I visited the Harry Potter Studio Tour in Watford 

(Or as they like to call it - London)

The tour starts with the Cupboard Under the stairs...

This actually was a very close resemblance to my friend Kate's room in her final year of Uni.

Next you are taken into the Great Hall and  a tour guide tells you about the ceiling, the filming and parts you wouldn't notice if you were watching the film.

Its kind of hard to get your head around the fact the Great Hall is a set and not an actual room, you can see how thin the walls are in this picture

Here's some facts for you on the set of the Great Hall

This is Hagrids House!

They actually made 2 versions of Hagrid's house, one is a normal size and one is smaller to make Hagrid into a giant.

This is Dumbledoors office.

All the books you can see on the bookcases are made out of telephone books covered in leather

The car...

PRIVET DRIVE

Everybody needs good neighbours...

The amazing purple Knight Bus

Gringotts Bank Man (I really should know the names!)

Hagrid and his long lost daughter

I am so happy I know how Hagrid is made into a giant! 

They used a man who was 6ft 11 and made him wear a large suit to make his body bigger.

Then they made a animatronic head to look like Robbie Coltrane to wear as a mask!

Clever. Very Clever.

DOBBY!

We then went on to do a spot of shopping in Diagon Alley..

This is the actual model of Hogwarts used for all shots of the school in all of the movies.

It really is incredible what  film makers can do.

Then it was time for some gift shop fun!!

This obviously was not the whole tour in pictures, there's much more inside and I would highly recommend going if you like Harry Potter or are interested in film making.

There is a green-screen section (you are not allowed to take pictures) where you can ride a broomstick through Hogwarts and London Town. Its a lot of fun and a great day out.

It took us around 3 hours to walk around but people have been known to stay there for 11 hours!!

When I got home I watched the first Harry Potter film again knowing everything I know now I am in complete awe of the films. 

Tickets are £28 an adult.

I have recently discovered that I can't read on a hangover..nothing goes in, so for those of you that are like me and like to get drunk at the weekend I would recommend paying extra and getting headphones so you don't have to read the signs!

Also make sure you have enough spare change for the gift shop.

A chocolate frog is about £7 as are the Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans!

My Best Weekend Purchase

So I found the cutest thing to happen to my makeup bag in a while...

Solait Mini Mitt

Its a tan applicator for your face that fits over two fingers so you can easily apply your tan!

I always get nervous using a big tanning mitt for my face but now my problems are solved.

Its so tiny I love it!

It costs about £1.50 from Superdrug!

The Jam Tree

I have 'liked' The Jam Tree on Facebook for a while now. Every now and then I see a picture of their food pop up on my news feed that makes my stomach rumble at my desk.

So on Saturday we headed to Chelsea in the glorious sunshine to try out some of their menu!

Due to the fact that neither of us are particular football fanatics, we were clueless about the Chelsea game on that day. Initially we weren't going to book but luckily we did after being given the heads up by the waitress that it would be rammed  full of me, which it was! (no complaints)

The streets and pubs were covered in a sea of blue. The atmosphere was great though and got us both onto the idea that we should start supporting a football team and get involved in the action!

We were lucky enough to bag a spot in the garden at the back.

The Summer Tart - £13

Cornish Brie, Piquillo peppers, Artichoke Hearts, Yellow Courgettes and Onion Puree with Smoked tomato  and Rocket Salad.

The tart was my favorite although there was a very limited amount of brie which was the main reason I  chose it (being a cheese lover).

The Pulled Pork Burger - £8
Tomatilo Salsa, Jalapenos, Pico de Gallo and Chipotle Slaw.

Unfortunately this burger has nothing on the BBQ pulled pork burger I had last week which you can see here.

Warm Chocolate & Pecan Brownie with Vanilla Ice-cream - £5.50

The bathroom walls were decorated in cassette tapes. 

During the week they offer 2-4-1 burgers which is more reasonable as there was nothing special about the burger we tried.

The Jam Tree has 3 locations, Kensington, Chelsea and Clapham. You can visit their website here or download their app from the website.