By Krista, Stephanie, Rebecca and Amber
Today we were up and ready to leave at 8am to head out to East London to see the Olympic grounds. Our tour guide, Colin, was not able to get us too close to any of the buildings for security purposes but we still got some great views of some really architecturally impressive structures. We also got to see Europe’s largest mall, where about half of us got to stay to eat and shop.
The other half of us jumped a bus, a train, another train and another bus, to get to the Harry Potter Studios to tour the sets and stages where the movies were made. The studios were incredible and there was so much to see from the Great Hall to the Gryffindor Commons to Hagrid’s Hut, Diagon Alley and more. They even had the giant model of the exterior of Hogwarts used in the movie for all the exterior shots. As we rounded corners jaws dropped and chills went up our spines. We all earned a greater respect for all the people who work in film making and all the details they put into their work. We all want to have a movie marathon of all the Harry Potter movies when we return to The States. While one group was at Harry Potter the other half of the group had tea at Kensington Palace and then spent the day doing other assorted activities that suited their interests. We all split up and had dinner in small groups before returning to the hostel for the night.
