Une semaine à Paris

If you're into Game of Thrones (and if you're not, you really should be) then you'll be looking at that photo and wondering where Jon, Bran, and Robb are.

It seems that they might have traded the North for a clothier life.



There are some very iconic things about Paris - always the Seine, always the Eiffel Tower, always the Louvre and Arc de Triomphe at the end of the Champs-Élysées.

So I suppose it's only right that I put a mandatory photo of the Notre-Dame here.



I have to admit that despite having been to a fair number of countries, I hadn't done a Sandeman's Walking Tour until going to Paris. These free walking tours are pretty cool - they take you around the city and are great for freshie orientations, and at the end of it all request a tip instead of a fixed price for the tour.

Since Paris is pretty big, I decided to give in to the walking tour and get a head start orienting myself.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] Le Musée d'Orsay.[/caption]





[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="900"] The Eiffel Tower, all the way from across the city.[/caption]

This is Paris, so of course there are going to be a ton of street artists and musicians around. It's what the city is known for, after all - isn't it?



Did you know that the musical The Phantom of the Opera (as it was written by Gaston Leroux) was set in the Opéra Garnier in Paris? Being a POTO fan - I've been in love with the musical since I was 8, and yes I am totally a sell-out - there's no way I could miss seeing the real-life Opéra Garnier.





More iconic Paris sights - the Basilica de Sacre-Cœur from across the city.



This is the Montmartre area.



The Montmartre area is known for being the indie, artsy part of Paris, which probably explains why the street art here is so darn awesome.



I started out thinking Paris was overrated, but slowly the city grew on me. It's not too bad, even if the RER does smell like pee.

Stay tuned.

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A Very Harry Behind-the-Scenes

When we watch completed films on the silver screen, it's very easy to forget that they actually take a lot of effort to get there - makeup teams, CGI teams, special effects, props and costumes... The work that goes into a film as big-budget as the Harry Potter ones is pretty astounding!











[caption id="attachment_1943" align="alignnone" width="900"] Paper models of the Hogwarts interior.[/caption]



[caption id="attachment_1940" align="alignnone" width="900"] The amount of work that went into this is amazing![/caption]





[caption id="attachment_1937" align="alignnone" width="900"] More paper mockups, although if this is supposed to be Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade I can't tell.[/caption]

And then, before you know it...



It's freaking Diagon Alley y'all. The magical first step into the wizarding world, with a ton of apothecaries and owleries and Ollivanders and Flourish and Blotts and can you totally tell that I was one of those kids who was eagerly awaiting her owl to Hogwarts on her 11th birthday?





[caption id="attachment_1934" align="alignnone" width="600"] Because Gilderoy Lockhart is awesome, don't you know.[/caption]













So I guess my day out to Leavesden really was a lot like my entire childhood revisited, and time completely flew by - in between the incredibly detailed audio guide and soaking in the atmosphere, I somehow managed to spend an incredible seven hours at Leavesden.

There's nothing better than reliving all those childhood dreams.

 

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Photo Friday: Creating magic, Hogwarts style in London

You should probably know that I am a huge Harry Potter fan.

I really do mean, huge.

I make my own Harry Potter jewellery. I once made a Luna Lovegood butterbeer cork necklace. I also reference Ravenclaw on just about everything (because I'm a Pottermore Ravenclaw) and I once tried making my own Hogwarts robe. (That failed miserably.) I also worked at Harry Potter: The Exhibition in Singapore last summer.

So when I finally got to go to Leavesden Studios, you can only imagine how incredibly excited I was to be there. Where the magic was made, you guys.

Walking through the doors to the Great Hall.

I got the same feeling that Harry must have had the very first time he walked through these doors at Hogwarts. It's so much more magical especially as a Harry Potter fan - I grew up with Hogwarts and the Harry Potter books, and I was devastated when I didn't get my letter at 11 years old. (Yes I was one of those kids.) But now, I finally got to go to Hogwarts!!!

The Gryffindors!

I love how the attention for detail is absolutely everywhere. Dragons with fire bowls!

The layout of Leavesden Studios isn't chronological, so right after entering the Great Hall you go through and see the crystal dining tables of the Yule Ball (and the costumes, too). Although this is all made of resin, it still looks amazing. Can you believe that these are the costumes that were actually worn in the film?

I love being able to get up close and personal with all the props that were used in the film, an even being able to see the little degrees of wear from their use. Like this Luna Lovegood jewellery set (did I mention she's my favourite character?) - did you know that the actress Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna, made these beaded earrings herself? She did them so well that the jewellery department just decided to use them in the film!

It never fails to amaze me how much effort and work is put into these films. We don't often notice it when we're watching the completed film, but there really is an incredible amount of work that goes into silver-screen believability. For Deathly Hallows, Harry was given clothes in varying degrees of ruin, since he was on the run and needed to look more and more dishevelled.

Standing on the set of the Gryffindor common room brings back so many memories of so many years ago. I can't believe that it's been about 10 years since the first Harry Potter film was released! It feels so crazy to think that it's been so long. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was the first film I watched in cinemas, so it was all the more nostalgic.

It's all these things that really add to the sense of the film and make Hogwarts come to life on the big screen. It feels incredible being able to see things like Dumbledore's office and all the little details that went into creating the look of aged, worn stone.

Whether or not you're a big Ravenclaw fan, you have to admit that Rowena Ravenclaw's magnificent diadem is a beautiful work of art. I love how everything looks so intricate, especially in close-up - with etching of the words on the rim, to the feathers of the Ravenclaw eagle and the big blue jewel right in the centre!

And of course, what is Hogwarts without the Potions dungeon, where Harry endured so many hours at the mercy of Professor Snape? There's Professor Slughorn's costume, as well as self-stirring cauldrons on this set!

These are the incredibly intricate vault mechanisms at Gringotts!

After the already substantial indoor section, there's also a little outdoor section with props like the Knight Bus, Privet Drive, Bathila Bagshot's house, and even a little booth selling refreshments and Butterbeer!

Here I am, wondering why my flying car won't fly. 

The crazy thing is that even after a good three hours walking around the first half of the studios, we still weren't done. There's so much to see, and so much more to do!

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