Today Karen let us sleep in until 10, because we got to bed at like 4:00 in the morning. :)
Today we visited Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. It's actually lived in by an actual duke or earl, I can't remember what he is. After we got ready (my straightener has stopped working!!!) we met up with our group and drove to Northumberland...
...and drove..
..and slept..
..and drove...
...and boy, did it take a long time!
I woke up when the coach pulled into the Alnwick driveway. Our tickets had been reserved for us, but Dad and I did some quick looking around the office and realised our particular tickets didn't allow garden access (which we really wanted to see), so we upgraded. :) There are a ton of cool and exotic gardens and fountains here! Nobody else upgraded though, plus Dad got in for next to nothing because I was his 'caretaker' since he's 'blind.' ;)
Karen took us on a walk around the grounds of the castle so we could see all the filming locations here. Most of the most memorable scenes from the first two films were shot here; Neville's mishap and the Remembrall chase, Quidditch lessons, Hagrid's Hut, and the mound of earth that Robbie Coltrane walked along to look taller while talking to the Trio about Nicholas Flamel!
Dad and I utilised our garden tickets and toured the Poison Garden while the others played a pathetic version of Quidditch. It was sweet! There were all sorts of poisonous plants, including mandrakes! Some plants were in cages so we couldn't touch them, and one we weren't allowed near because its smell would make you pass out. The point of the garden is drug awareness, so of course it housed several drug plants, such as poppies and cannabis and the like. The guide told us that their cocaine plant was stolen that morning! She said it was there the previous day, but it was missing today. I was one of the ones in a cage. There was nothing but a little pile of upturned earth. Scary!
Dad and I wandered through the other gardens, and got lost in the bamboo labrynth. :) But we got out in time for tea! We were served either tea, coffee, or juice (that's what I had), with an assortment of scones, little sandwiches, and tarts! It was very proper. ^_^
After tea Dad and I went to the Tree House. Its amazing! It's one of the neatest things ever! It took a while to explore, it was so big. It was full of staircases and balconies and a swinging rope bridge. Basically it was like an oversized playground for adults.
There is a small town next to the castle. Like Hogsmeade! It turned out to be extremely boring, so we just rested in the park after we strolled through the trail by the tree house.
When we arrived back at the hotel we were all so exhausted we didn't eat dinner. Straight to bed!
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