Making history and movies

Stonehenge

For someone who has never been a history buff I’ve done a great job of inundating this trip with historical information. One of the oldest places we visited was Stonehenge. On the bus to the area we passed field after bright yellow field of blooming canola plants. This spectacle was enhanced by the ever-present sheep with their lambs. Stonehenge is surrounded by fields of grass and oodles of sheep and lambs. In the past you could drive up to the site, walk across a road, and then among the stones. Because tourism has increased, there is a new visitor center with shuttles that take visitors out to the stones. And Stonehenge was everything we expected, particularly since we could get closer to the stones than we anticipated. The audio guide gave lots of information about the site, the culture that built Stonehenge, the geology of the stones, and a host of other facts, suppositions, and theories supported by research. Of course, we spent as much time as possible with the stones and almost missed our bus back to London!

Magical places

One of two Sphinxes

No matter where you travel, you’re going to find some sites that spark your imagination. London has many Cleopatra’s Needle, these are presented to successful military personnel. The Needle, along with two sphinxes, are down on the London Embankment. They harken back to the days when Egypt was being explored and the romance and mystery of the desert.

of these. Colonization, as well as participating in wars can lead to the collection of artifacts. Sometimes, as with

Entrance to the A&V Museum

The Albert and Victoria Museum is another of London’s magical places. Filled with everything from traditional Chinese carvings to Botticelli masterpieces to textiles to Beatrix Potter’s letters, this jewel of a museum will take you all day to even begin to experience. One of the great pieces of art in its entryway is the Chihuly hanging. This jaw-dropping piece of glass catches the sunlight and is mesmerizing.

As a devoted mystery reader, a trip to London just isn’t complete without a visit to 221b Baker Street. There is a funky little museum with period pieces that are arranged as though they belonged to Sherlock, Watson and even Mrs. Hudson. Part of it is rather creepy, in that they have life-like manikins

Mounted Head of the Hound

representing some of the characters in the cases, including their rather grizzly demise. However, one of the most spectacular oddities (or spectacularly odd) was the mounted head of the Hound of the Baskerville.

Hedwig at #4 Privet Drive

For me, the most magical locale is not in London but in a nearby  suburb. For 10 years the cast and crew of the Harry Potter movies literally lived at  Warner Brothers Studio in Leavesden. Several of the sets are still intact, and it’s amazing to think that over the 10 years the beds in the Gryffindor tower set that the boys slept in were never enlarged, so they had to scrunch up to look as though they fit. The back lot has Tom Riddle’s grave, the Knight Bus, and two houses including Number Four Privet Drive; Hedwig, Harry’s owl (yep, he’s live along with about half a dozen other varieties of owls there for educating the public) sits in front. Many of the drawings, complete concept paintings, and full scale models are on display and are quite astonishing. There are also costumes, makeup

Door to the Chamber of Secrets

areas, and probably most interesting, the animatronic heads for some of the characters. There is, of course, butter beer available. The tour was supposed to take three hours, but we were there for closer to five; going behind the scenes is quite possibly more fascinating that the actual movies.

Hogwarts

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