My 2022 Global Adventure: Day 1, 2 & 3 (Planes! Trains! Deloreans!)

I just returned from a three week trip to Europe...

By the numbers:

22 nights

13 train rides

9 LEGO stores

6 hotels

5 plane rides

3 theme parks

2 boat rides

2 bike rentals

2 minor injuries

1 grand time

And though I'm still in the midst of jetlag (my poor brain is so confused! What time is it? Where am I? Who am I?) I thought it would be a good idea to get some of my memories written down before they're lost to the ether.

So here we go. Days 1, 2, and 3....

Ten months ago, my friend H. and I decided to take a trip to Europe this summer. Our original plan was to visit Paris, then Copenhagen. From there we were to embark on a 9-night cruise to Warnemund (for Berlin), Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, and back to Copenhagen. After that, H. would head home and I would take a train to Billund, Denmark, before heading home myself. 

From October 2021 to February 2022, I did lots of research for all these cities. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and soon after, our cruise line cancelled the St. Petersburg port stop. A few weeks later, they cancelled the cruise entirely. 

H. and I then decided to rework our plans and do a land vacation. Paris and Copenhagen could stay on the itinerary, and we'd add in Amsterdam and a couple of Belgian cities. By this time, H. had become interested in visiting Billund, too, so we decided we'd start in Paris and end in Billund. But I wasn't yet totally satisfied. Having never visited the UK, and with a weird interest in traveling through The Chunnel, I decided I'd set forth a few days before H. and spend some time in London before meeting her in Paris.

I want to mention that H. and I tried to be as careful as possible to not catch or spread Covid 19. We are both vaxxed & boosted and we wore masks regularly the entire trip... N95s on planes and longer trains, and regular masks everywhere else. Any time we were indoors (except for like 2 times we had indoor meals) and in any location except our hotel room, we wore masks, and we even wore them in outdoor crowds. We did the best we could, and thankfully, we both stayed healthy and returned home healthy, too. That said, Germany was the only European country that enforced masks (we didn't stay any nights here, but did pass through twice) and we saw very few people wearing masks anywhere else. We seemed like outliers, but nobody gave us a hard time. Maybe we just got lucky, but I think based on this experience, it IS possible to travel safely. If one or both of us had gotten sick, I'd probably think otherwise. Annnnyway...

Day 1 & 2

I set out from Portland around 4pm on July 26th. I had a quick stopover in Vancouver, B.C., and then a long flight to London. The plane landed around 11:30am, London time, but it took a while for the plane to get to the gate and offload us. Then it took ages for me to get out of the airport. When I finally did, I realized I had a problem -- my phone didn't have much of a signal in London, and I hadn't written down precise directions to my hotel. I ended up taking public transportation toward the hotel, got off midway, found some Wifi, and was able to download directions. Eventually I made it.

My room at the Charlotte Guest House(s) turned out to be small, with a single bed and a non-functioning window. It was too depressing for me to take photos of the interior, but I did get some decent sleep while there. 

I had a bit of a headache that first evening, but I tried to stay awake as long as possible and go to sleep at a normal-for-London time. 

Things I learned today: 

*Don't trust that you'll ever have an internet connection; download those offline maps!

Day 3

I woke up around 8:30am the next morning and went out to explore London. I checked out St. Paul's Cathedral, Victoria Embankment Gardens, and Trafalgar Square.

While riding the subway the day before, I'd seen posters for various plays and musicals that were being performed around town, and one that particularly caught my eye was a poster for the Back To The Future musical. I hadn't realized it was playing again (it premiered right before Covid hit.) So I went online and booked a ticket for the 2:30 matinee. I got the cheapest tickets they had, and they turned out to be just fine. 

Sitting in the near-back of the theater, I could see nearly everything the show had to offer, but I couldn't really see the actors' faces -- which meant I had an easier time pretending that Marty was the real deal (you know, Michael J. Fox.)

The actor playing Marty did a great job. I wasn't sold on the Doc actor's performance, though -- it was a bit over the top at times, like, "Hey, everyone, I'm a  wAcKy inventor, wink wink!" Overall, though, I really enjoyed the show! It was interesting to see what changes they made to the story to account for it now being a stage production. Spoiler alert: no more Libyans! The songs' lyrics and tunes weren't particularly memorable, but the theme of the songs worked well for getting the story across. 

After the play, I went to the Westfield LEGO Store. It was nothing special, and I would've preferred to visit the big LEGO Store in Leicester Square, but that one was closed for renovations while I was in town.

I got dinner ingredients at a grocery store near my hotel, and spent the evening relaxing in my hotel room.

Tomorrow: Bath!

Molly & Heather Go To Disneyland & Universal - Part 2

Despite being a huge Harry Potter fan, I'd never been to any of the Wizarding Worlds...

Until now...

Part 2: Universal & Wizards & Dinosaurs & Such

On August 28, we visited Universal Studios. In order to get from Anaheim to Hollywood (a 35 mile trip), you pretty much have to take a vehicle. Supposedly, the most efficient method, other than driving your own car, is taking a charter bus...

Sigh.

What with the traffic, the fact that the bus driver kept waiting for latecomers at all the hotel stops, and the banshee masquerading as a toddler who wailed the morning away, it was not a fun ride. Oh, and did I mention it took THREE HOURS? 

The company was LuxBus. It cost $28 per person round trip. If I were to do it again, I'd bring noise-canceling headphones and a good audiobook.

Eventually, though, we did arrive...

We had read that for best results and shortest wait times, we should visit Harry Potter land first. Apparently all the other visitors to the park got the same memo. The line for Harry Potter And The Forbidden Journey wasn't long, but it was insane. They make you put all your stuff into lockers. The lockers are free, but you have to use a kiosk to access them. Now imagine a cavernous room with about 200 lockers, 8 kiosks, and 7,004 people.

Yeah, whoever was managing that area should be fired.

Eventually, we did claw our way to the front of the lines and each got lockers.

There was essentially no line for the ride after this. The line/queuing area is pretty neat....

Ravenclaw, do better!

The ride itself is pretty thrilling. You're in these seats and the seats move, and you see all these scenes on projection screens, so it feels like you're actually covering a lot of distance. There were several parts where we were "flying" and did a fast drop. Heather and I both had to close our eyes a few times. It was a bit intense for me, and I didn't care to ride it again that day.

Next we visited The Three Broomsticks, which is an enormous quick-serve eating establishment. I ordered the "Continental Breakfast Served With Croissant And Scone."

It came with a beverage, so I got Pumpkin Juice.

Heather ordered a Butterbeer.

After breakfast, we explored some of the shops, including Honeydukes...

Owlses?

Later in the morning, we headed to the lower lot at Universal to go on the Jurassic Park: The Ride. Heather had ridden it before, but I had no memory of it. We had read that it gets you wet, so we were prepared with some extra outer layers. What I was not prepared for was the huge drop at the end -- not steep so much as long and seemingly endless. But I survived, and while we did get a little wet, it wasn't too bad.

We got some coffee at Starbucks, then returned to the upper lot to ride the Studio Tour.

This is the one ride I make sure to go on every time I visit the park. It's always fun seeing the changes that have taken place. For me, it had been 17 years since my last visit, so, yeah... there had been plenty of changes. But it's also nice to see ol' Bruce the Shark pop up from the lake, as always.

Biff's car? That was new (to me.)

We did pass the Lyon Estate signs... they were prominent, but they had been painted a hideous color. I wasn't fast enough to get a photo, though.

After the tour, we returned to the world of wizards. Heather rode the Flight Of The Hippogriff coaster, and I went to the wand-choosing demo. I had heard about it from people who'd done it, so I kind of knew what to expect. Perhaps for that reason, I wasn't particularly awed.

I did not buy a wand.

Here are some random people riding the Hippogriff coaster...

Before we departed from HP Land, we got some more Butterbeer (Butterbeer ice cream for me!)

We also visited the bathrooms, which is important to mention because they're themed, too! Moaning Myrtle's in there!

We went to the Kung Fu Panda show, which I enjoyed.

After this, Heather and I split up, and I went to the Animal Actors show.

Troy and Abed and a laaaaab rat!

They had dogs, cats, chickens, a raccoon, rats, and lots of birds trained to run (or fly) across the stage, trigger events, and wow the crowd. It was very cute & entertaining.

Heather and I met up again after this, and we went to the Special Effects Show. This was mildly entertaining. The cramped bleacher-style seats left a lot to be desired.

Afterward, we browsed some of the shops...

Look, I love BTTF as much as the next fan, but... WHY DOES THIS EXIST??

We also walked to parts of the park I had not yet seen that day...

By this time, we had seen all we really wanted to see inside the park, so we headed out to the CityWalk. Even though I hadn't been inside the park since 2002, I had visited the CityWalk a couple of times in the interim. There's a HUGE candy shop. I went in, nearly fainted from the glory of it, and left without buying a thing. I call that a win.

Then it was time to get on our bus. The ride home was a little bit shorter than the ride there, and thankfully, our hotel was the bus's first stop that evening. (It had also been the first pick-up that morning, at six freaking fifty a.m. I'm not bitter. Really.)

All in all, it was a rewarding, yet exhausting, day. We spent five hours on the bus and eight hours at the park. I bought no souvenirs whatsoever. Not even any candy. I already own enough HP merchandise, and the candy is overpriced. So. Until next time, Universal....

Tomorrow: A Park So Nice, We Went There Twice!