Living La Vida London: Day 20

I am tired and hungry. I really just want to sleep, but I knew that I would not be pleased with myself if I didn't write something here... I also had enough energy to tweet about getting to listen to Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat speak at Comic Con, so I decided that I had no excuse. But that's happening this summer and I am determined to ask them questions and be a bit of a fangirl toward them. They are kind of two of my screenwriting heroes, plus the panel is going to be about Sherlock. I don't think I need to say much more about that.

Today was Harry Potter day in my class and we each got to go around and say how Harry Potter has touched our lives. I remember when I was in third grade that my class had the opportunity to read the first book (this was probably in 2000) and I saw that some of my classmates went to the room next door because their moms didn't want them to read a book about witchcraft. Being the devious little child I was, I concluded that I could read the same book by myself in the other room instead of having to sit criss-cross applesauce with a bunch of other kids. So I lied to the teacher and said that I wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter. I finished the book before they did and didn't think much of it. That summer, my parents took us on a road trip to California, I believe, and they thought it would be nice if we listened to the book on tape. And yes, it was on an actual tape because we drove a van with a tape player. Since then, my dad and I have read the books as they came out and my family usually saw the films together. I think Harry Potter was more of a bonding experience for me with my family than anything else. There were people in the class who found that they loved to read because of the books, or that the story served as an escape for them. I have always read and can honestly say that I love Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games more than I love Harry Potter, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate all that it's done for me. I would be more likely to pick up a dystopian novel or a book about serial killers throughout history than to go to Harry Potter, but I do love them and I'm glad that I can be part of a fandom that has some pretty great people.

Enough of that. I went on a ghost tour of London instead of partying with a bunch of drunk Americans on a boat in the middle of the Thames on the 4th of July.

I learned far too many things to mention at this late hour, but I'll be sure to make a post later that is completely dedicated to telling a few stories.
I got to go over the Tower Bridge, which was pretty cool. The traffic also wasn't that bad for a Thursday night.

Me with the tour guide and the guy photobombing the picture was the "health and safety inspector" on the bus. He was an actor. He wasn't a health and safety inspector. He came and sat by me a few times AND he looked like what I imagine Vincent Van Gogh looked like, so that wasn't such a bad deal for me.  

The tour ended and I realised as I was walking back to the Tube station that I am nearing the end of my adventures here in London. You're probably thinking, "Well, duh Christine." but it really hadn't hit me until I almost walked past the Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges. I took this opportunity to go on the bridge and take some night pictures like I did all at the beginning of my trip.

I'm starting to think that I'll miss London more than I thought I would. I'll be back. I know I'll be back, and I'm not just saying that. I knew I would be back the first time I came about three years ago, and I know I'll be back at some other point in my life.