Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour London

The Making of Harry Potter Warner Bros Studio Tour it's an amazing tourist atraction where the young wizard fans can loose themselves in a magical world, in the same sets where the scenes of the life of Harry Potter were shot.

These studios are located very close to London, just about 30km and made their opening in 2012.

If you are either a big fan or you just like the books and movies of Harry Potter, than you cannot miss this experience, magical without any doubt, where you can explore all the corners of Hogwarts and relive the adventures of the young wizzard. You will be certainly amazed with all the techniques and all the tricks used by the movie producers as well as certain "magics" that were done during production.

There are severall possibilities to access the tour, however, the most used by tourists (and also by me) is the Harry Potter bus that leaves Victoria Station direct to the Studios. It is a doble decker bus all decorated with Harry Potter theme. Trust me, if you are a big Harry Potter fan, by the time you see the bus and start thinking about tour visit to the studios, a great feeling will come to you and you«ll be nervous and anxious at the same time, waiting for the magical journey to begin. 

This is the easiest way to  get to the Studios, however, you have limited time in there as the bus tickets are booked for specific hours. When you are planing your visit, be advised that you need a minimum of 3 hours (more for the really enthusiastic fans) to do the visit just inside the studios. If you are "crazy" about Harry Potter, for sure you will need much more than 3 hours inside so the Bus is not the best way as it only gives you a 4h/4h30 window to visit the place. You can allways rent a car and drive there, as i said, it is not that far from the city, and indeed it is closer to Luton Airport just 20km away.

The prices of the tickets are around 45 euros per person, it may seem a little expensive but take in consideration the coin conversion from English Pounds to Euro and also the fact that you can spend the entire day in the Studios exploring at your own rythm.

Between the exhibitions there is also a small restaurant that serves fast food and the famous butterbeers, the ones used in the movie.

All the scenarios and props were used in the production of the movies and in severall places you can see images and videos of the shooting scenes being made.

You can also bring some interesting souvenirs such as a video of you flying a nimbus2000 or the every flavour beens which are indeed every flavour, good and bad.

The most interesting points of this tour are definetly the marvelous Diagon Alley with all the shops and the Gringots Bank, and the Hogwarts Castle. Now that is a sight to be seen. An entire room is needed for the castle, it is huge and so detailed. During Christmas time they even cover it in "snow" like in the movies. It is an empressive piece of art.

The tour is huge you can visit Snape potions room, Hagrids hut or the dorms where Harry and Ron rested after their adventures.

It is indeed an absorving and very interesting experience, great for all ages from the younglings to the elder. And if you are not a Harry Potter fan you will become one that's for sure.

Leave you a few photos.

See you next time!!! 

Mahora, Spain

Mahora is a small village in Spain, in the province of Albacete which has aproximatly 1.400 habitants.

It's a lovely place in the country side with marvelous people, delicious food and great festivals.

I went there in August, time in which they celebrate their Saint, and i was able to see all the festivities and all the tradition of this people.

Everyone knows everyone in this village and when there are people from outside, they love to recieve well and show every corner of their village, where to eat good, where to stay, what to do and where to party. 

During these festivities, which lasts for an entire week, other than the religious activities, they have a parade, which goes around the village, usually with the young people participating in it. They also have a very particular activitie during the night, every night at 2.30 in the morning they release the fire bull which is nothing less than a man carrying a structure similar to a bull's head, in which are placed several fireworks. So the man goes through the streets runing after people, with no fixed trajectory, and everyone runs from him not to get "burned" until the fireworks run out.

It is very intense as everyone goes there to see it, from young people to the elder ones.

One of the days they also organize the Grand Prix, which joins several teams and puts them to the test in some sports and intelectual games. It is really funny to see as it usually ends up in people falling or making funny gestures, allways in a safe mode.

Music and kids activities are allways present with the tents on the streets selling typical products, inflatables and trampolines, bumper cars, concerts and so on. There is also a disco "Los Jardines" where you can continue partying all night long.

The architecture is beautifull and the landscapes of the countryside are amazing. If you love photography it is a very nice place to take some great pictures. There is the river nearby with some rapids and a "hidden" pathway which is abandoned but you can still manage to get there. It is great to explore and to be in contact with nature, also in the middle there is a water spring with the natural water flowing where you can enjoy a refreshing sip and recharge batteries for the way.

There is also a huge abandoned bridge built for the train to pass in the old times. 

 Food is delicious in Mahora. Naturally, as they are in the country side, it is based on animal stuff such as Pig ear or fried tail, prawns on the plate, potatoes with special sauce, barbecue meat and so on. It is very cheap as well as it is not a very well known touristic place, so you can eat until you are stuffed full and pay as little as 10 euros or so. One of the best places i've eaten was in the restaurant ABEYRA, close to the swimming pool and the footbal field.

To get to Mahora the best way is to rent a car. You can fly either to Alicante, Murcia or Valencia which are more or less between 130km and 200km from Mahora, but in the airport the best thing to do is to rent a car. In Spain the rent a cars are quite cheap and you can enjoy the trip through the country side and make some stops to taste the spanish food along the way. 

Other option is to take a bus or train from Valencia to Albacete and then local bus to Mahora. That would take you a little bit more time but also a nice way to know the surroundings.

There are places to stay in Mahora, there is the Hotel Cervantes which has an 8,3 classification in Booking and the Maxi Pension. Also there is the "La Casona de Mahora" which is kind of a guest house but quite new and very comfortable as it looks by the images in the web.

I'll leave you with some more of my photos, hope you like it and brings your desires to visit this amazing place.

See you later.

Adios!!