Notebook of a Dreamer.: 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!