Adventures in London: The Magical Experience of Platform 9 ¾

Basically, today was amazing! We started off the day at the British Library. We went into their Treasures of the British Library exhibit. It was amazing!

· They had original music written by the composer in their handwriting. Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Chopin, etc.
· They had copies of the first prints of Shakespeare’s plays.
· The only known medieval manuscript of Beowulf.
· A handwritten copy of Jane Eyre. A handwritten copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem Sonnet 43 (it’s the ‘How do I love thee? Let me count the ways’ poem).
· The Gutenberg Bible.
· A copy of the New Testament from the 4^th century.
· The oldest English document from 689 BC (I think that’s the right year).
· The Magna Carta.
· A copy of the Canterbury Tales with a Chaucer dictionary at the back.
· One of Dickens’ books.

So, basically it was the coolest exhibit. It was awesome (the literal sense of the word) to see their handwriting. To see how they wrote. I was looking at Beethoven’s handwriting. At Dickens’ handwriting. I saw Winston Churchill’s signature. I saw Queen Elizabeth’s signature. Henry VII’s handwriting. It was amazing! There’s so much history here. It’s unbelievable.

Best part of my entire day!

And since we got off at King’s Cross station to get to the British Museum, we decided to go to Platform 9 ¾. And guys, it was fantastic! I was on a Harry Potter emotional high for hours! We waited in line for quite a while, but it was totally worth it. Plus, the “employees” were ridiculously nice. They wanted to make sure that everyone had their own, individual, magical experience. They wrapped your House scarf around you. Let you pose. A girl held the scarf to make it look like you were moving. She was so nice and was genuinely excited when you told her your house. The photographer was giving advice to the people around him taking pictures of their friends or loved ones who were posing at the platform. They were even willing to let you take several more pictures until you got a good one. Then, if you wanted to, you could jump and the girl would throw your scarf, which is what I did. Obviously. They even let us take a group picture afterwards. They put all of our scarves back on and let us take more pictures. It was wonderful. Then we went back into their Harry Potter shop and I paid 10 pounds for my picture. And guys it was most definitely worth it. And I bought a key chain too because, why not? It was wonderful and magical and I loved it!

Look! My food!

We ate at Byron’s on our way home from Platform 9 ¾. It’s a burger place. I had an Oreo shake with a cheeseburger. It was pretty good.

Then we went to a play. Originally, we were going to see The Lion King, but it was sold out. So, we went to 39 Steps instead. It was a little play with only 4 actors. But it was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time. The actors did all of their own effects, so if they were trying to show that it was windy, they would grab their coat and flap it around. It was fantastic! I laughed so hard! In a way, I’m glad that we didn’t get tickets to The Lion King because I wouldn’t have seen 39 Steps otherwise. But, we are going to try to see The Lion King tomorrow, so I will see it!

Oh and a couple people in my group saw the Queen today (I didn’t) and another group saw Ian McKellan. So, I’m just waiting to see my famous person. J

Oh! And the tube station tried to take off my leg today. The little gate (they are just short plastic gates) closed on my knee on the way home from 39 Steps, which was annoying and slightly painful. So, I’ve now received my first injury in London, just a couple of bruises. London’s not all delicious food, marvelous plays, and Harry Potter attractions. The machinery is also out to get you.

And on that wonderful note, hope you’re all having fun, and enjoy the pictures! (They are basically just more pictures of me at Platform 9 ¾)