lugares – PigTailz

Harry Potter Studio Tour, London, England

I promised my daughter a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in London for her birthday. Unfortunately, I purchased my plane tickets before purchasing tickets to the Studio Tour. When I went to the website to purchase the studio tickets, they were sold out. I was heartbroken. I contacted the company through the website and they were so helpful! They sent me to an affiliate site (Golden Tours) that carries tickets paired with transportation to and from the studio. This was a much better situation than trying to arrange my own transport as the studio is about 2 hours away from where we were staying.

The bus picked us up from the designated location within 5 or 10 minutes of the scheduled time. The accomadations were quite comfortable. We had plenty of space, the driver was nice. The tour comes with a time window and you are directed to return to the bus on time for the return trip. They said it is okay if we are late, that they will do their best to fit us on a later bus, but that there were no guarantees and we should be prepared to find alternative transportation. We were given a 4 hour block to make the tour.

At first I was dismayed by how crowded the studio seemed. We queued in a long line and were gathered together into a large theater for a short film. The film ended and we shuffled in a large group into the great hall. We were there for a special event that included some of the animatronics that went into the creation of Hagrid as well as the hanging clandles in the dining hall.

After this point, we were able to spread out through the exhibits and it quickly became possible to take pictures.

Time in this room was more than sufficient, but limited. I thought we would be ushered through the entire tour in with the large group, so I hurried my daughter a little through the next space thinking we would have to rush to see everything before being told to move along. There was so much to see.

After leaving the dining hall, the door opened onto statues and ceilings and video screens and … I quickly realized the timing of the movie theater and the dining hall were only to allow people to spread out through the studio. Access was available from this point to the end meaning we could spread out and meet back and revisit for the rest of the trip.

The potions classroom, Dumbledor´s chambers, boys dormitory, and the moving stairway were among the first things we saw.

As you walk through the exhibits, you can see how detailed are the furniture and artwork. They show parts of the development of the various costumes and sets so you can see the effort and technology that went into them. There are places to touch and intereact with the sets. Honestly, I preffered this to any of the museums we visited. This is art. This is so many forms of art coming together to create a fully immersive experience for visitors.

There were some greenscreen photos and videos that were pretty fun. My daughter wanted to do the broomstick ride of course. It was 40£ ($51) to order all the videos and photos in a digital format with one printed photo. Pretty standard themepark package.

I really enjoyed the spiders in the Forbidden Forest.

I´m going to be honest here. I usually try to only say nice things, but… Lunch in the studio was not my favorite. I tried the vegetarian option for an entree. It was so flavorless that I couldn´t eat it. We ordered vegetarian chili fries to share and that was enough to hold me over, but still not great. The staff was incredibly friendly though. The cups for the butterbeer are meant to be taken as souveneirs. Since many people don´t realize this, the staff rinses the cups and leaves them out for other visitors who cannot afford them or want more.

Outside the cafeteria were a number of larger features. The covered bridge, the triple decker bus, the greenhouse, and 4 Privet Drive were all together in the plaza.

After leaving the outdoor plaza, we entered into the next segment of the studio tour. There was quite a lot regarding the technical aspects of the engineering and videography. The goblin hands were so realistic that it genuinely looked like old hands and skin even close enough to touch it. And then there was Gringotts. I couldn´t get a clear photo, but the marble arches and floors were stunning.

Diagon Alley was also pretty amazing.

The grand finale was the Hogwarts castle. This miniature used for the overhead shots and zoom scenes was so impressive. Each tiny detail was made by hand and affixed to the castle. And by this I mean each of the roof tiles was individually placed. It took 86 artists working together to construct the model. It was the equivalent of 74 years worth of work for a single artist.

This made for a fantastic adventure. It was a bit expensive, but not any different from other tourist attractions. It took between 3 and 3.5 hours to walk through. Fortunately we saved plenty of time for the shop. There were so many things to look at. And in the end, we made it to the bus exactly on time.

Kinga Haudek Artista Joyera, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Kinga Haudek Artista Joyera is one of my favorite stores in Santiago de Compostela. This small jewelry shop on rua San Pedro is located in the historic old town. The stone walls and dark wood window frames lend perfect contrast to her organic designs. You can imagine yourself in the same place, making the same purchase 200 years in the past.

When you walk in, you may find Kinga hard at work crafting something new. Everything is crafted by her hand in the store. Her name is the brand, and the moment you meet her you will understand why. Lost in focus, she always looks a little surprised and delighted to see visitors. Her smile will be warm and welcoming when she invites you into the store.

Kinga is Hungarian by birth and Galician by spirit. A brilliant academic, avid adventurer, and an artist by nature. She studied sociology in Hungary, silversmithing at the Mestre Mateo School of Art and Design, and obtained the official Galician Craftsman Certification. Her curious and intelligent nature shines through each piece and gives a brief glimpse of something she saw or felt on one of her many adventures. Kinga is a highly talented artist with designs inspired by elements of the city and the sea.

For photos of her work, I suggest visiting the website. I could not do justice to her creations. Instead, I will document the jewelry making class I attended with my daughter!

Kinga offers classes in her workshop to make some of the more simple pieces. The price of the course includes all of the supplies needed and a half day of instruction. Instruction is limited to groups of 3 people to insure a quality experience for everyone.

Our course began at 10:00 in the morning. She walked us through the process in both Spanish and English. I am not sure how many languages Kinga speaks, but the course is available in English, Spanish, Galician, and Hungarian for sure.

I was admittedly a bit converned when she handed me this little pieces of silver and told me I was expected to turn them into something beautiful on the first try. But hey… I´ll give it a try.

She told us how to properly hammer each piece. We all set to work at our own station. We had a variety of tools at our disposal and a varying weights of hammer.

We would hammer a bit and then heat them before returning to more hammering. I was a little nerrvous to use a torch for the first time, but it was much easier than I anticipated.

I was a bit too timid and struggled to properly align my strikes. Kinga came and lent a hand to put me in the right direction. She helped me to correct the curvature for a more symmetrical pair.

My daughter, on the other hand, was quite adept at this process and managed to complete hammering more quickly than anyone else. This is her gloating.

After a bit of hammering and heat and I was pretty excited to have these to show for my effort!

Once the earrings were shaped, we oxidized them with an acidic sulfur compound and took a short break while they soaked. Next, we learned to craft and solder the earring posts, trim and file the excess, and finally to polish them on her rotary buffer.

The end result was exciting. Each pair was unique even though we all started with identical pieces of silver, similar tools, and used the same methods.

We completed our earrings around 14:00. With a sense of accomplishment and pride in our artistic eneavors, we all posed together for a final class photo and had a little lunch at a restaurant down the street on Rua San Pedro.

I think my favorite part of this was the sense of pride my daughter took away from the activity. She came home and called our family back in the US to tell them what a great job she had done. It was funny listening when she did not know that I could hear her. ¨I was so good at hammering. I finished before everyone else. I was much better at it than Mom.¨

Would highly recommend this activity when visiting Santiago de Compostela. You would need to contact Kinga before planning the adventure to see which classes might be available and which weekends. But definitely something worth doing in Santiago.

Mosteiro de Carboeiro, Galicia, Spain

The Mosteiro de Carboeiro is maybe one of the strangest places I have ever been. This twice abandoned monastery has strong Lovecraftian horror vibes. Located in the municipality of the Concello de Silleda, this is next level creepy.

Mosteiro de Carboeiro was founded around the year 936 by counts of Deza, Tareixa Eiriz and Gonzalo Betótez. The monastic house was reformed in 1171 and construction of the new Romanesque church began. Carboeiro was abandoned and the surrounding lands were put up for auction in 1836. There is more info on the website here.

The engravings around the door in the photo are influenced by the Pórtico da Gloria of the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela. The images represent the the Elder Musicians of the Apocalypse.

Before entering the mosteiro, I went to buy the entrada. There was a woman working alone in a dark room. The room was very large, but everything was brought to a small triangle of light from the doorway. The light fixtures hanging behind the small desk were not in use. Around the corner everything was completely dark.

She explained that the renovations of the buildings had been made with the thought that the concello would run electricity to the buildings. In 1931, Carboiero was deemed a historic site, and in the 1990s the Xunta de Galicia began renovations to preserve the mosteiro. Lights had been installed during the 20 year renovation, but the project was abandoned before completion. She did not explain why. My best guess is that this is a cursed shrine to Dagon. But who knows.

After paying, I explored the courtyard. Remanants of the old stone fountains were strewn about and covered in moss.

Inside the church were exquisite roman arches. I had a laugh at how many lights were installed but not in use. But it was absolutely stunning.

And this is where things start to get weird. Paint from early frescoes appears to depict the outlines of giant, man-eating sea creatures and demonic eyes.

Oh… and the terrifying demonic symbolism? There´s more. On either side of the church is a door. Above each door, there is a symbol combining christian symbols with nautical or pagan symbols that are representative of the local culture.

A closer look at the doorways reveal this is actually a passage way to the shrine of Cthulu below.

If you are brave enough to pass through the archway, a narrow spiral stairway winds its way to the catacombs(?) below.

After returning up the stairway, I found the remains of Francisco sin Cara. I do not actually remember who the tomb belongs too, but the headless casket made me laugh a little in my belief this place is maybe a bit cursed.

My final piece of evidence that this is a cursed ritual site is a ponte do Demo… I mean seriously this is how they name the bridge near the mosteiro.

A Pontenova, Galicia Spain

Situated between Galicia and Asturias, this was just a quick stop on my way a hiking adventure elsewhere, but I thought the old brick ovens were lovely. The ovens are remnants of an iron mining operation. There is a lot more information available online. Maybe I will return to make this route one day.

Praia de Lires, Galicia, Spain

This beach was a short hike and climb away from the main road. I had the whole beach to myself. I´m not even sharing the exact location because I want to have it to myself the next time too. So… just enjoy the view.