tamara_russo (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tamara_russo) wrote2007-07-25 12:51 pm
tamara_russo) wrote2007-07-25 12:51 pm
Recollections
I promised I'd write a bit more, so here goes, since my boss isn't here and I'm bored to death...
The last few days in London were all peppered with the excitement of Harry Potter, of course. After waking up on Friday to an abysmally rainy sky, I almost yanked my hair out of my scalp (a look I think would do me no good, as opposed to Mel). Both me and Mel wandered around the house, trying to hope it'll clear up quickly, and it was some time after noon that indeed the clouds moved on and we were able to get ready quickly and leave the house, equipped with some (junk)food and a small rug Margaret lent us to sit on. Our original plan was to go to Piccadilly Circus and see how long was the queue already, and go walk around a bit until later in the evening when we would come back and take our place, but when we got there the queue was already kong enough to make me want to stay, so I spread the rug and sat down, telling Mel she could go do something else but I was staying. She sat down as well, acting like a good polish girl, and acted grumpy for the first hour or so. In the mean while, we started paying attention to the people around us - including an entire family who were dressed as characters (the parent were dressed as the Malfoy couple and the girls were dressed as Luna Lovegood and Ginney Weasly), two 16 year old girls who sat next to us and became our companions for the joyfulness (with two other of their friends who joined after a few hours) and a girl dressed as Tonks who walked around the place telling us that she was with the first group waiting (they've been there for 2 and a half days).
As the hours went by Mel got more and more excited and the grumpiness vanished, and I was jumping from within with every time people around us yelled "Five hours left!" etc etc. I was very happy we stayed, because after some time I went to see how long was the queue since we entered it, and found a huge amount of people standing behind us all the way to the end of the street (and people kept on coming until after the midnight release! How stupid was that?!). After seeing all those poor people who were to wait until 3 a.m. to get the book I felt this much better about the hours I've spent sitting next to the "Waterstones" store. All in all, there were so much things to see and do during those hours - we spent a long time thinking and talking about what would happen (of course), including a few surveys that were held by people around us. We spent time worrying about the weather, because clouds kept on coming and going with the wind, and the people from "Waterstones" came over and gave us water proof plastic coats. We looked at all the people who came over to take pictures of the Malfoy family (mostly the father, who looked just like Jason Isaacs when he portrays Lucius Malfoy, including the incredible sneer). We also took pictures of all the people around who were dressed like witches and wizards, and there were a lot, I tell you that. When the darkness grew stronger the anticipation level grew thicker and thicker, making us look at our watches often and smiling like loons. At some point we engaged in conversation with the Malfoy family, spending something like an hour (from 22:30 to 23:30) speculating about what it is to come, and talking generally about our own potter obsessions.
At 23:30 we couldn't handle sitting down anymore, so we got up and laughed and sang ("Snape, Snape, Severus Snape, Dumbledore!"), and me and Mel went *squeeeee* together, jumping up and down, and when the moment came we cheered and shouted, completely ecstatic.
Of course, it took us another hour, or a bit less, to actually get to the front of the line, a point I caught with my camera, and then when they let us into the shop we went galloping towards the mountains of books, grabbed two and went to pay for them. When we went out of the shop we became even more loony, running and laughing out of that place, just to hurry up and get to reading...
We tried to find a cab but they were all taken, so we settled for a green cab - or a riksha... Mel was quite afraid from the nonchalante way our driver went into the streaming traffic, and by the time we got off the thing my hand was red from her clutching me. It took us another few minutes to get to the train platform, and it was lucky we caught the last train because the next train was due only two hours after that time (it was almost 2 a.m.).
We got to Margaret's house at about 2:30 a.m. and made ourselves some coffee and food for us to consume while reading. Mel went to bed at 4:30 approximately. I only went to sleep at 6.
We got up at 11:30 and went on with a bit of reading until we decided to go get some cupcakes so we went to London. Only running from the downpour that started, we managed to get to the station relatively dry, and by the time we got to central London it had stopped raining so hard.
After finding our way into Portobello road we got our cupcakes and bought some stuff for our family, but we wanted to eat the cakes, and it was starting to rain again, so we decided to go back home for the day...
When we got home we again made us some coffee and ate the cakes with it, listening to the rain that grew heavier and heavier outside. As if it only let us go out for a little while...
The reading went on into the night, Myself dissolving in tears at some point, because of one of the deaths, and Mel left the room when she got to another. She came crying downstairs again at 3 to tell me she was done. She also stayed with me for a little while after, but I only finished at 5:30, by that time she was already asleep.
We spent most of Sunday talking about Harry, and other matters we got to (how I'll never know), packing and savoring the thought that we were going home.
No doubt, it was an amazing vacation.
The last few days in London were all peppered with the excitement of Harry Potter, of course. After waking up on Friday to an abysmally rainy sky, I almost yanked my hair out of my scalp (a look I think would do me no good, as opposed to Mel). Both me and Mel wandered around the house, trying to hope it'll clear up quickly, and it was some time after noon that indeed the clouds moved on and we were able to get ready quickly and leave the house, equipped with some (junk)food and a small rug Margaret lent us to sit on. Our original plan was to go to Piccadilly Circus and see how long was the queue already, and go walk around a bit until later in the evening when we would come back and take our place, but when we got there the queue was already kong enough to make me want to stay, so I spread the rug and sat down, telling Mel she could go do something else but I was staying. She sat down as well, acting like a good polish girl, and acted grumpy for the first hour or so. In the mean while, we started paying attention to the people around us - including an entire family who were dressed as characters (the parent were dressed as the Malfoy couple and the girls were dressed as Luna Lovegood and Ginney Weasly), two 16 year old girls who sat next to us and became our companions for the joyfulness (with two other of their friends who joined after a few hours) and a girl dressed as Tonks who walked around the place telling us that she was with the first group waiting (they've been there for 2 and a half days).
As the hours went by Mel got more and more excited and the grumpiness vanished, and I was jumping from within with every time people around us yelled "Five hours left!" etc etc. I was very happy we stayed, because after some time I went to see how long was the queue since we entered it, and found a huge amount of people standing behind us all the way to the end of the street (and people kept on coming until after the midnight release! How stupid was that?!). After seeing all those poor people who were to wait until 3 a.m. to get the book I felt this much better about the hours I've spent sitting next to the "Waterstones" store. All in all, there were so much things to see and do during those hours - we spent a long time thinking and talking about what would happen (of course), including a few surveys that were held by people around us. We spent time worrying about the weather, because clouds kept on coming and going with the wind, and the people from "Waterstones" came over and gave us water proof plastic coats. We looked at all the people who came over to take pictures of the Malfoy family (mostly the father, who looked just like Jason Isaacs when he portrays Lucius Malfoy, including the incredible sneer). We also took pictures of all the people around who were dressed like witches and wizards, and there were a lot, I tell you that. When the darkness grew stronger the anticipation level grew thicker and thicker, making us look at our watches often and smiling like loons. At some point we engaged in conversation with the Malfoy family, spending something like an hour (from 22:30 to 23:30) speculating about what it is to come, and talking generally about our own potter obsessions.
At 23:30 we couldn't handle sitting down anymore, so we got up and laughed and sang ("Snape, Snape, Severus Snape, Dumbledore!"), and me and Mel went *squeeeee* together, jumping up and down, and when the moment came we cheered and shouted, completely ecstatic.
Of course, it took us another hour, or a bit less, to actually get to the front of the line, a point I caught with my camera, and then when they let us into the shop we went galloping towards the mountains of books, grabbed two and went to pay for them. When we went out of the shop we became even more loony, running and laughing out of that place, just to hurry up and get to reading...
We tried to find a cab but they were all taken, so we settled for a green cab - or a riksha... Mel was quite afraid from the nonchalante way our driver went into the streaming traffic, and by the time we got off the thing my hand was red from her clutching me. It took us another few minutes to get to the train platform, and it was lucky we caught the last train because the next train was due only two hours after that time (it was almost 2 a.m.).
We got to Margaret's house at about 2:30 a.m. and made ourselves some coffee and food for us to consume while reading. Mel went to bed at 4:30 approximately. I only went to sleep at 6.
We got up at 11:30 and went on with a bit of reading until we decided to go get some cupcakes so we went to London. Only running from the downpour that started, we managed to get to the station relatively dry, and by the time we got to central London it had stopped raining so hard.
After finding our way into Portobello road we got our cupcakes and bought some stuff for our family, but we wanted to eat the cakes, and it was starting to rain again, so we decided to go back home for the day...
When we got home we again made us some coffee and ate the cakes with it, listening to the rain that grew heavier and heavier outside. As if it only let us go out for a little while...
The reading went on into the night, Myself dissolving in tears at some point, because of one of the deaths, and Mel left the room when she got to another. She came crying downstairs again at 3 to tell me she was done. She also stayed with me for a little while after, but I only finished at 5:30, by that time she was already asleep.
We spent most of Sunday talking about Harry, and other matters we got to (how I'll never know), packing and savoring the thought that we were going home.
No doubt, it was an amazing vacation.