Harry Potter and the Awesome London Experience

“Michelle! Michelle! We’ve BEEN THERE!” (elbow thrust into side repeatedly) “Michelle!”

“I know! Shhh…ouch! I know!” (whisper yell)

This exchange defined our “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” movie going experience…and also may have led to some bruising on Michelle’s arm.

The movie, needless to say, was all that we had expected and more.  There’s something exciting about going to see a movie that you know is going to be one you’ll love, and find that it’s also just a generally well-done film.  I’ve only had that feeling on a few occasions myself, the best example of which would be any one of the “Lord of the Rings” movies.

This movie was up to that caliber of entertainment and value.

There was none of the Disney-esque quality of the first two movies that I personally thought dumbed-down the books.  The acting has improved from the first four movies as all three of the main, and young, actors have finally found their stride.  It didn’t try to be something it wasn’t and didn’t even end with a “Full House” final line of learning like the fourth and fifth movies.

It was a movie, not a movie trying to be a book, and that’s what I think makes it my favorite Harry potter movie so far.  Well, that, and some of it was filmed on Shaftsbury Avenue in Piccadilly Circus, where we’ve spent some fun times in London.

Some critics have complained that the movie was too long, but I honestly could have sat through the whole second part as well without any problem. Others have said it was just a blatant plot advancer for the final movie out this summer.  Well, of course it was.  That’s what Part I of a two part series is supposed to do, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t one hell of a fun, plot-advancing ride.

And now that Michelle and I have officially been Facebook sorted into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw respectively, we can join in the waiting for the last movie to come out…or we can just go and see this one again!

Weekend Preview

Family and friends will be arriving on Sunday morning, so we’ve got a busy few days ahead as we prepare for their arrival.

On Friday, we will be at our internships and then Kaleigh, Lindsey, and Michelle will meet up at the Odeon Theatre in Marble Arch to see the seventh Harry Potter movie, the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. A night with popcorn, candy, Diet Coke and Harry Potter…every girl’s dream come true!

Saturday morning, Lindsey and Michelle will check out the National Portrait Gallery and then hit up an American favorite, Chipotle, for a little taste of home. Kaleigh is meeting up with an acquaintance from the States and will be taste testing the delights of Borough Market near the London Tower Bridge. Saturday afternoon, we will be working diligently on our research papers for school, so that we can be free to enjoy our family’s presence during the week. That night we’ll head out to Brick Lane to have a curry dinner with some London friends and then Lindsey, Michelle and some of the girls will hit up the night life in Shoreditch. Kaleigh will then sneak back to our flat to play Santa and decorate our flat for the holidays.

On Sunday morning, Kaleigh and Michelle will head to Heathrow Airport to greet Kaleigh’s family and our two close friends, Kiki and Becky. Lindsey’s family will be arriving later in the week, just in time for Thanksgiving.

London Bucket List

So taking our cue from the move, Bucket List, we decided to create our own version for our last three weeks in London (insert sad face and crying here). Here are some of the things we hope to cross off our list before we leave! We’ll let you know how we end up doing.

See “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”

See “The Nutcracker” ballet

See “Onassis” play

Have a family Thanksgiving dinner

Go to The Ice Bar

Have curry on Brick Lane (again)

See “Hamlet”

Visit Greenwich

See the Christmas tree lighting in Trafalgar Square

See “Another Year” British movie

Go to Liquid Cashmere bar

Go to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park

Go to Vertigo 42 bar

Visit Windsor (Kaleigh)

Go to On Anon club

Visit The British Museum

Visit The Victoria & Albert Museum (Michelle)

Go to O’Neill’s pub (one last time)

Take a canal boat trip from Little Venice to Camden

Stay up the whole night on our last night in London, getting on and off the night bus wherever we like

Things I’m Thinking About Right Now

So you might have missed us lately, and we’re sorry for falling down on our official blogging duties.  If your lives have been empty and alone without the London wit and wisdom of myself and Miss Ward then here’s a little taste of what you’ve been missing.

Michelle’s parental units came for a visit over our midsemester break so she spent a week gallivanting around London and it’s surrounding lands, showing off the sights. Since then, Meesh has been working her cute buns off on stories for her internship that have taken her as far off as Barcelona to get that big scoop.  Too bad she only got to stay for one day! She and Lindsey also visited the Isle of Wight for some preppy, boating fun with Michelle’s boss.

I spent midsemester break hitting up Madrid with Chelsea.  A few days of sangria and siestas made me think maybe I had studied abroad in the wrong city, and the gorgeous warm weather there didn’t help that thought.  Since break, I’ve planned and worked two events for my internship.  First was an international photography exhibit to promote Gc watches.  I’ve never felt more like Lauren Conrad than that night, with my ear piece, clip board, professionally done hair and loaned designer watch.  I also did accessory styling for the Guess press day to promote the new line.

In between all that, both of us squeezed in a visit to Oxford and parts of the set from the Harry Potter movies – our own review of the latest film will be posted on the blog next week sometime we promise!

So basically, we’ve been really friggen busy people!  But, because I love you…here’s some things that are on my radar right now

1. Time – We have just less than a month left in London and as much as it scares me to think about leaving all this behind, it also reminds me just how much we have done with our time here…and how much we have left to do.  We’ll be making a “London Bucket List” soon.
2. Winter – Now I love snuggly sweaters and UGG boots (which are waiting for me at home) but it is very hard for me to appreciate them when I keep being bombarded with tweets and statuses about the amazing weather in Missouri.  I get it.  You’re in shorts, I’m in a parka…you win.
3. Birthdays – Mine just past, and I don’t feel any older, but I can’t wait to celebrate with all the people I love when I get home.  If I missed your 21 shots I’m sorry…I’ll buy you one at Harpos so long as you return the favor.
4. Phones – Random I know, but Michelle and I saw an ad for the Motorola Defy the other day and fell instantly in love.  It’s dustproof, cuts out ambient noises on calls, and can literally be thrown in a bucket of water and be totally fine.  This is amazing.  Take that iPhone 53.28.

OK, until next time…we send all our lovin’ to you! Beatles style yo.

Weekend Preview

This weekend Lindsey and Michelle will be traveling to the Isle of Wight, which is an island off the coast of England. We are leaving by train on Friday after our internships and arriving in Southampton, where we will take a ferry across to East Cowes. My boss from my internship will be picking us up at the dock and we will be staying at her house Friday and Saturday night.

During the day on Saturday we will visit the beach, drive around the island, and even visit the garlic farm where everything sold is made of garlic, even the chocolate! On Sunday, Lindsey and Michelle will visit Queen Victoria’s home, Osborne House, and then travel by ferry to Portsmouth, where we will enjoy some British outlet shopping, in the hopes of finding a New Year’s dress and a faux fur coat.

While we are in Isle of Wight, Kaleigh will enjoy having the flat to herself for the weekend. In between catching up on homework and cleaning up the flat, she will be going to museums and checking out a Dior Illustrated exhibit at Somerset House. It should be a fun weekend!

Weekend Preview

This weekend one of Lindsey’s friends will be staying with us and joining us as we continue to experience London. On Friday, we will participate in the Guy Fawkes celebration which will include a bonfire and fireworks in Bishop’s Park. Chelsea, Kaleigh, and I will then travel to the northern Cotswolds and Oxford on Saturday to explore a different part of the country. That night, we will go to Brick Lane to have curry and then experience the night life in Shoreditch. On Sunday, we will have brunch on a little boat restaurant in Little Venice. The rest of the day will then be spent studying and working on papers for class.

Mid Semester Break

Dear readers I must apologize in advance for our absence this next week. It is the mid-semester break from school, and we will be making the most of our time off, which unfortunately means a lack of internet access.

This week Michelle will be exploring London, Oxford, Bath, Windsor, Stonehenge, and the Cotswolds with her parents, who traveled from Dallas to spend the week with her. Kaleigh and Chelsea will be traveling to Madrid, Spain  for a few days, with the hope that Kaleigh’s Spanish skills will enable them to stay out of too much trouble. Lindsey will be flying to Budapest, Hungary with a friend to spend a week experiencing life in Eastern Europe. Megan will be spending time enjoying the beauty of Barcelona, Spain with a few of her friends.

So while the five of us are scattered about Europe, wish us safe travels and we will write all about our lovely adventures when we return.

Weekend Preview

This weekend we will be traveling to another area of the United Kingdom: Scotland. Bright and early Friday morning, Michelle, Kaleigh, Lindsey, and Chelsea will be boarding a train to Edinburgh, Scotland. We will be spending the night in Edinburgh and then traveling through the Scottish Highlands on Saturday and Sunday, spending the night in Inverness on Saturday. On Sunday evening, we will return to London by train and Michelle will hurry to meet her parents, who will be arriving in London that day.

Weekend Preview

This weekend Michelle and Lindsey will be checking out Borough Market on Saturday morning and then traveling to Strawberry Hill with Kaleigh in the afternoon to visit a newly restored Gothic mansion. That night, all five roommates will be gathering to cook a Mexican food dinner complete with tacos, quesadillas, and nachos. Sunday will be dedicated to home work, laundry and the usual exploration of London.

Singing a New Song

It’s a very rare and confusing experience to be at a concert where everyone around you knows every word to every song, and you know none of them.  It’s like being in your own little world and yet being able to look in on everyone else’s private worlds, too.  I know because I had this exact feeling at a show last weekend.

I was checking out an artist as a potential performer for my internship.  (Yeah, I know, pretty cool job! Huh?)  But anyway, I was scouting him to work at an upcoming event and was told that he was an emerging artist who already had somewhat of a cult following in Europe.  I had never heard of him and was totally ready to stick my Lady Gaga and Katy Perry-worshipping nose in the air at this upstart.  If I hadn’t even heard of him, then there was no way he could compete with my stateside musical loves like Jason Derulo.  My musical tastes were faaaar to artsy and superior for him.

But, a free concert is a free and concert and so off Chelsea and I went into the night.  I wore my best impression of an indie-rocker girl outfit while Chelsea went more for glam rock.  Neither of us quite hit the fashion mark.  Actually, neither of us even hit the wall with the dartboard on it.

The people to our right were a dreadlocked couple who looked like they might have been related to each other…or to a ginger Hagrid…in another life.  The guys to our left were the Eurotrash version of frat boys, albeit frat boys with long hair and scraggly scarves.  Where were we?  And how could both of these groups of people be into the same (unknown) musician?

We found out when said musician took the stage forty-five minutes after he was supposed to go on, which was about twenty minutes after Chelsea and I thought about leaving because “this guy is not Kanye West damnit!  He can’t make us wait this long!”

If the music of Coldplay and John Mayer could have a love child, and that love child could somehow learn to play all kinds of instruments while maintaining and unnervingly soulful stage presence…then that child would be Yoav.

Normally I go to concerts for the show of it all, rather than the music itself.  Case in point: I went to Britney Spear’s “Circus” concert in Kansas City my freshman year.  Obviously I was not there for the musical excellence of the artist but for the pageantry.  With Yoav there was not an ounce of pageantry, just straight out talent. Like Bon Jovi once said, it was just him and his guitar.  But that was all the man needed.

As the crowd around me closed their eyes and swayed in time to the music, Yoav spun some kind of musical spell in the room.  Guy was good.  He was so good, in fact, that I forgave him for going the way of Madonna and Cher and Prince by choosing to use only one name.  His name might have been simple, but his lyrics were thought provoking and real, and you could almost see his soul pouring out over each verse.  He reeled each and every person in like it was his job.

And it is.  He’ll be performing at an international PR event come November and I could not be more in favor of that choice.  I’m excited to meet him in person and see if he speaks anywhere as vividly or fluidly as he writes/sings.  If he does, I might be in love…though I think he has a wife? Hmmm…

Listen to him, and let me know what you think!  If you don’t like him, no biggie, I’ll be happy to talk to you about Lil’ Wayne or even Hootie and the Blowfish instead.  If you do, then all the better!  You might also like The Mountain Goats, who were a little too slow for me, but come highly recommended by a Mr. Alex McElvain.  Happy listening and love from London!