Many years prior, we extended an offer to travel with my cousin to Europe during her summer before starting high school. Surprisingly, her parents were all for it. We asked her to help set the itinerary and – with some input from us – this is that trip.
She chose to travel to London and Paris. Of particular interest was to visit the sets of the Harry Potter films at the Warner Brothers studio in London and a day trip to Cambridge.
London
London always feels like a second home. We tend to hit a lot of the same sites over and over – British Museum, National Gallery, a requisite ride on the Number 24 bus to Hampstead Heath, possibly a show (this time it was “Mathilda” on the West End and “Merry Wives of Windsor” at the Globe). All good things to revisit with someone who has not been there before. There was parkrun (Hampstead Heath again) and this time a day trip to Harry Potter-aligned Cambridge.
The Harry Potter / Warner Bros studio tour was surprisingly good. I enjoyed reading the books but I didn’t fully connect with the films. However, I love movies. The sets provided an incredible peek behind the curtain to show how the magic was made. Is that a pun?
It was clear that the series of films spanned a threshold of filmmaking. The earlier films still relied heavily on practical effects. While CGI was available, the filmmakers considered it too expensive to use everywhere. As time went on, the CGI cost went down and the quality improved. Of great interest was the floating candles in the Hogwarts great hall. The first films had lit candles suspended – these proved problematic since the open flame would damage the wires keeping them aloft. By the remaining films, the CGI cost had dropped and the practical effects were more hassle than they were worth.
The docents / guides were impressive and die-hard fans. While my Venn diagram of geekdom does not intersect with Harry Potter fans, the passion and knowledge demonstrated by these guides was impressive. As a true fan of trivia, no nugget of knowledge was too tiny to be mined. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter films, the staff at the studio tour are your people.
Paris
While I have been to Paris a few times, it was not always my favorite place. I guess I hadn’t got the vibe.
This time, despite it being the hottest month on record (a record that has since fallen), I enjoyed the city. A lot of it was where we stayed – we had a great AirBnB near the Bourse. We were close to the main attractions or the Metro that would take us there, but it also felt like a neighborhood. There were a couple of smaller restaurants, a grocery store, pharmacy, and it was just enough off of the tourist path to feel like we were able to get away from the chaos.
The most fun, however, was touring the city at twilight in a vintage Citroen 2CV. While I am not sure my cousin had a great time, we had a blast driving through the streets as the lights began to glow, stopping at the Eifel Tower and up the cobblestones of Montmartre to Sacré-Cœur Basilica. People pulled their phones out to capture picture of us! Well… our car.
While a number of operators provide this kind of tour, we booked through 4 roues sous 1 parapluie and they were excellent. Our driver dressed in the requisite striped shirt and beret. All that was missing was a baguette tucked under his arm – although he may have used one to shift gears.
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