Wingardium Leviosa!

After the excitement of yesterday’s festivities in London, from maneuvering around the serpentine labyrinth that is the Tube (“Mind the gap!”) to watching the scandals of nuns, writers, and lovers at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in The Heresy of Love, the team awoke early this morning after a comfortable slumbering, and with much anticipatory excitement brought our bags down to the hotel entranceway at 5:00am to be trucked off to Scotland.

Between the deliverance of luggage and the deliverance of ourselves a few hours later, we actors returned to our hotel rooms for a few more hours of recharging, both of sleep and our mobile devices. During this intermediary period, I lay against my plump pillow wondering what the day would hold in store for me. Would my eyes behold their first legitimate Scottish kilt? Would the train doors dramatically close on me alone, forcing me to gallop to Edinburgh on horseback? (I would, of course, receive the horse as a lend from the Royal Guard) Thankfully the latter possibility did not occur, however I do remain hopeful for the kilt. Various queries aside, I was quite excited. My roommate, Colt, exclaimed while dormant, “Guhneesh…juuh…chu.” I’m inclined to believe that he agreed with my sentiment.

After huddling around the lobby in our 7 a.m. finest, we scampered onto the bus and were treated to a ride through various parts of London on our way to Kings Cross Station. The Harry Potter frenzy began. Julia and I are proud to announce that we are convinced that we have discovered the location of Grimmauld Place, the secret home and hideout of the wizard Sirius Black. With the help of Madison, I narrowed down the entrance of the Ministry of Magic to one of two suspicious, red telephone booths. Maddy was particularly thrilled to share with the group that she had spotted many a “maaaansioon.”

Upon arriving at Kings Cross Station, I suppressed the urge to regurgitate my Art History textbook with fellow architectural enthusiast, Bailey. The vaulted arches! The long nave! The incorporation of natural light! The bridge where Harry and Hagrid stood that one time! The side room where Harry and Sirius stood that other time!

“Look!” I exclaimed.

“Maaaansioon,” Maddy agreed.

On the train, I passed the time by sharing Digestives with my fellow actors (much tastier than they sound), sharing suspicious glances with Lenin for no reason at all, and taking many selfies with Brooke, although she was asleep at the time and won’t see them till later.

For the record, I am writing this post on the train ride. We have passed into Scotland with nary a hitch, with a gorgeous view of forested hillsides, grazing sheep, and sunshine to spare. We will arrive in Edinburgh in a few hours, rejuvenated and ready to take Scotland by storm!

#London #studentpost