Going to Hogwarts!!

Hello world!

About 2 weeks ago I was in the Netherlands and while I was there I went to the Harry Potter Expo in Utrecht. No I am a BIG potter head and have read all the books (about 5 times) and seen all the films (about 20 times). So to say I was excited is an understatement although the same can be said for my sister who is an equally big fan as me. Our dad got us into Harry Potter years ago when he got a box set with the first 4 films as a gift from somewhere ( Honestly can't remember where from).

The day started great with an hour long drive to Utrecht where the expo was in a big cinema called Cinemec. Getting inside was a bit of a struggle as I was walking with crutches (Still am) and there where a lot of stairs and no lift... But as soon as we where inside and gave our tickets to the lady it was worth it! we had to wait a little while bit where soon let inside and towards the sorting hat. All the things we saw in the expo are real props used in the film that where transported from the Warner bros studios in England.

We started the tour with the sorting hat and a few kids where sorted into different houses which was pretty cool to see. After the hat we went to a different room where all the trailers had ben mixed together to form a short film which was beautiful and of course my sister and I quoted all of the lines of the films ( we have annual Harry Potter marathons).

Now I am not going to describe the entire tour because if any of you are going it would ruin it all but I will state my opinion and show some pictures I took. The pictures aren't the best quality as it was dark and we couldn't use flash. Anyway on to explaining and getting all excited.

After the short film we saw the Hogwarts express or atlas part of it. It was just as magnificent as I imagined but very dark so we couldn't see it that good. After the train you enter the real expo and take a walk around different sets and learning more about the making of the films. There where a few interactive things you can do as well as pull out a mandrake root or throw a quaffle. Overall the experience was great but it was quite busy as it was a Saturday so a tip for anyone who wants to go: go early like we did or go during a weekday when there are less people. It didn't bother us to much as we where still able to see everything and we where lucky as when we left there where a lot of people waiting in line to be able to enter. After you finish the expo you enter a gift shop that is completely in Harry Potter style which makes you more inclined to buy something. After much debating I decided to buy a wand as that was something I really wanted, they weren't cheap but the quality is AMAZING! I got Sirius Black's wand as he has always been one of my favorite characters allthough I wouldn't be able to tell you exactly why. My sister bought a big poster and a luggage tag and for our dad we bought a mug which we will give him for his birthday. There where a lot of the typical sweets but we didn't buy any as it was very busy there and they where actually quite expensive.
Anyway enough writing as this post is getting quite long and possibly boring. I will add a couple of photos (definitely not all) of the Expo and I will see(?) you soon with another blog!

 My sister and I next to the Weasley's flying car.

Sirius Wand in a beautiful box!

Have a great day/night wherever you are!

xxSimonee

Getting lost in Riga.

Hello world!

Firstly sorry for the long time between post but my laptop died and my phone was to uncomfortable to write on but I've got a new laptop now so I am back to posting every week!
Secondly I had a important hockey tournament about a month ago and I hurt my knee so for the past month I have been to several doctors had multiple tests done and have been walking on crutches ever since. All photos I have taken where taken with my phone as taking pictures and walking with crutches proved impossible, so I apologize if the quality isn't the best.
Today's post is going to be about my recent trip to Riga the capital of Latvia. I only got back a few days ago and am still in awe at all I saw, so sit back relax and enjoy this new post.

Now many people when I spoke to them and I told them I was traveling to Riga were surprised that I chose to go to one of the baltic states as it is not a very popular tourist destination. My sister however, saw an offer to go to Riga on a website an fell in love instantly. As we do nearly everything together it was only natural we would go to Riga together. On the 28th of February the day had finally come that we would go to Riga, as the offer was from a dutch website, we flew to the Netherlands first and spend a few days there before flying to Riga. we where only in Riga for 4 days but saw a lot of things in that period. Alltough not nearly enough and I'm sure we will be back soon.

DAY 1:
Our flight was quite early in the morning but as Riga is an hour ahead of the Netherlands we still lost half the day. After we arrived at the airport and took a taxi to the hotel  we where staying at the hotel city teather we unpacked our stuff (both of us hate to live out of a suitcase even if it is just a few days) and rested a bit as we where tired. we didn't have to worry about dinner as the offer came with a three course meal in the hotel's restaurant the first night. we went to dinner not expecting much but hoping it was good judging the hotel and the looks of the restaurant. the food was good but the portions were very small due to it being so fancy. The dessert was especially dissapointing tasting nothing like we where promised, but overall it was very nice.

                                           Starter: goats cheese mouse with beet puree and arugula.

                                       Main: corn fed chicken with parsnip puree and green beans.

Dessert: ?? suposed to be milk chocolate mouse cake with raspberry sauce and caramel sponge.

DAY 2:

On our first full day in Riga we got up not to early and went to breakfast which was great, although a bit strange as they had salads for breakfast (A typical Latvian thing we found out later). unfortunately for us it was raining so we didn't get to enjoy the day as much as we liked but still we made the best  of it. We had some Riga Live cards which gave us free access to public transport and a hop on hop off bus with a audio tour. We used that bus to drive around the city and walked around the old town for a few hours before taking the bus back to the hotel. As it was raining and already around 4 PM and we where tired we just watched netflix until we went to dinner. For dinner we went to a place called B Burgers that had amazing cheap burgers. My sister and I both chose a chicken burger with mozarella and pesto and it was one of the nicest combinations ever. Together with chips, sauce and a drink it was only 6,50 euros!  

One of the best burgers ever!

DAY 3:

When we woke up on the second day we where happy to discover it was not raining and the sun was even trying to peak trough the crowds. Feeling hopeful we went up to breakfast and then got ready to go to the city centre. We where planning to take a train and go to the beach but when we arrived at the station there where no more trains going to the beach as it was winter and cold ( 1 degree Celsius).  So we decided to go to a few more museums such as the Latvian occupation museum and the national museum of art. After that we went back home and watched some more Netflix (we are not obsessed we just had good wifi). For dinner we went to a cute pizza place that looked quite expensive but was really cheap ( 10 euros for 2 pizzas and 2 soft drinks). I had a margarita pizza ( My al time favourite) and it was amazing!

DAY 4:

This was our last day in Riga as our flight was at 7 AM the next day. we started the day with breakfast and then went on a tour through an old apartment called "the corner house". This house was used by the KGB (Russian secret service) during the soviet time when Latvia was ovulated ( from 1940 to 1991). It was the most impressive and terrible thing I have ever seen, not even the concentration camps compare. We learn a lot about WW 2 in history but very little about the soviets and the countries they occupied. After that we went back to the old centre and took some more pictures as It was raining the first day we where there. To end the afternoon we had a late lunch at the Big Bad Bagel a cute small cafe that sells all kinds of bagels, juices, smoothies, soups and salads. I had an amazing bagel called "Bacon in Mexico" it had bacon (DUH), fried egg, cream cheese and fresh spicy guacemole (that actually was fresh). I ordered a hot chocolate with my bagel as it was very cold and a smoothie to take with me afterwards. All the things I had where very nice and the atmosphere in the cafe was very nice as well. After lunch we headed back to our hotel packed our bags and just relaxed as we had to get up at 3:30 AM the next morning to be at the airport on time. For dinner we went to self-service restaurant where they had typical Latvian food but I don't have a picture of that but it was quite good.

So this concludes an amazing trip to Riga below I will put a couple of pictures of the architecture of Riga as so far the only pictures have been of food ( Sorry not sorry). I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I will write again very very soon!!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night wherever you are 

xx Simonee