Abbott Family Travels

Magical Monday Today was our highly anticipated tour of WB Studios to see the sets of all 8 Harry Potter movies! We took the train from Euston station to Watford Junction . From there a bus picked us up to take us to the movie lot. Behind the Scenes The studio was absolutely massive. We ended up spending four hours touring the entire space. Some of the highlights for me were: the costumes (specifically the Yule Ball and from the attack on Gringotts), inside the Gryffindor and Slytherin dormitories, Dumbledore's office, and the Lestrange vault/attack on Gringotts. They also had an area called the backlot where you could explore Privet Drive, The Knight Bus, and the Greenhouse. It is honestly too much to list it all here, but it was absolutely magical and so well done! A London Evening After reconvening at the hotel to drop off all of my Potter themed souvenirs, we stopped by a lovely Italian restaurant for woo...

Arrival Karen and I arrived a little after 10am this morning! We decided to beat the jet lag by dropping our bags and exploring the city. We had a vague idea of following the West End city walk from our guidebook, but other than that we mostly decided to go down the roads with the most interesting architecture! Chinatown Our hotel is located right by the entrance to Chinatown . Guided by the bright red lanterns and delicious smells, we ended up at a Chinese bakery where we purchased pork rolls and Chinese donuts. These were the perfect snacks to munch on while we explored the markets and shops in this area. Covent Garden We next meandered towards Covent Garden . I have read about this place so many times in historical fiction and romance books, I was excited to see it for myself! There was an open mall area with shops, restaurants, and an art exhibition. Not to mention performers putting on shows for families! In all the bustle Karen even spotted a Peter Rabbi...

 I am planning a trip to London, England for my spring break with my mother-in-law. We are so excited about this upcoming girl's trip! I used this inspiration board to help direct our focus when planning. I cannot wait to take off in just a few weeks!

This morning I flew from EDI back to JFK and have quite a layover before I arrive back in Denver tonight. I am so grateful I had this experience and I hope I have the chance to come back to Scotland in the future!

I am sad to be leaving Inverness. If I have the opportunity to come back I would definitely plan on more time in the Highlands! In order to get the most out of my day I woke up early and did one of the Ness walks around the canal and through the little islands. I recorded my route on Strava . Afterwards I had worked up quite the appetite as I was hauling my backpack with me the whole time, so I stopped into the Rendezvous Café for breakfast. I had pancakes with bananas and berries and had devoured it before I even had thought to take a picture. I then headed straight for the bus station to pick up my ride back to Edinburgh! Once I arrived I got a quick bite to eat and then headed off to scout out some more Outlander filming locations. First I went to Tweeddale Court, which is the historic street where Claire meets Fergus again. A short ways down the road I went to Bakehouse Close where Claire and Jamie are reunited...

I started my morning off right with a vanilla latte and chocolate croissant from XOKO Bakehouse and Coffee Bar. Unexpectedly, it was one of the only places to get an early breakfast on Sunday morning other than Starbucks or another American chain.  Next I boarded the Isle of Skye Day Tour with WOW Scotland. This was an all day (12 hour) tour. Our guide did an excellent job making sure we had plenty of time to get on and off of the bus to explore along the way and really engaged us with her storytelling about the different clans who lived on the island. Her energy was absolutely contagious and it made for a really fun day! We also got really lucky with the weather, there were a few rain showers along the way, but it always cleared up to let the sun peak through. The first stop was a photo op of Urquhart Castle located right on Loch Ness. Our guide engaged us with the history and mystery of Nessie along the way! The second stop was Portree, the capital of Isle...