The Wonderful World of Harry Potter -- Warner Bros. Studio Tour Part Three! And a Michelin Meal

If you can't tell from these blog posts, you could legit spend five hours in the studio. Gringotts was grand and beautiful, complete with goblin bankers overseeing the visitors (we won't talk about how problematic it is that JK Rowling made the bankers hook-nosed goblins).

 
 
 
 
 
I could hardly pick Elowen up for the photo below, but as you can see from our expressions, we were both pleased.  
 
 
 
And this part below was AMAZING--I wish I could post videos so you could see. Basically, it's a video screen behind the smoking rubble of Gringotts, and a dragon flies in and breathes fire. But it looks SO real. In fact, it looked so real that Elowen panicked and ran away (which was hilarious).
 

From Gringotts, you head to Diagon Alley! Again, very like the one in Universal Studios (which makes total sense, just noting it). 


And finally, the very last experience of the tour is a huge model of Hogwarts and the grounds. It was beautiful and so detailed and made me weirdly emotional that there's this beautiful world someone created out nothing, that brings together people from all over the globe.



 
 
Once you leave the tour, it's time for consumerism! There are towering walls of candy at Honeyduke's, and you can buy your own sorting hat or a fuzzy Book of Monsters. Honestly, if it had been in my size, I'd have bought Hermione's Yule Ball dress. And of course Elowen had to pick out an owl!

My long-term boyfriend Ralph, in all his malevolent glory. 





Harry's Hogwarts acceptance letter made large. 



For dinner after our long day of Harry Potter adventuring, we went to a Michelin restaurant near the hotel named Hide. Their website states they welcomed even "the tiniest diners," so we felt comfortable taking Elowen--and they really lived up to their word! They made Elowen a special pasta and gave her a pear juice that she absolutely.
 

 
 
The restaurant was also beautiful inside, with gleaming woodwork and a fancy cheese cart.  Honestly, it's been five months so I can't even tell you what we ate for entrees...but I remember it was delicious. 



Just a lady eating her pasta. 

I DO vividly remember this dish--it was zucchini three ways, including a zucchini fritter. I loved it. 


The desserts in a Michelin restaurant never disappoint--my rum cake was just phenomenal. And Elowen enjoyed her version of strawberry shortcake.
 
 
Family picture in the hotel lobby!


After dinner, we headed out to the Connaught, one of the best bars in the world. Of course we also took Elowen, since one of the best toddlers in the world should be able to go anywhere. These pictures of her with the iconic red phone booths are some of my favorites. 



Hmm, should she have apple juice or pineapple?
It turned out the Connaught had a minimum $500 cover, and that's insane. So instead we went to its sister bar, the Coburg, which had some of the same drinks--and they were just as delicious as anticipated. The menu was crazy-extensive, but we shared a South Wing (vodka, apricot, almond milk, and orange blossom),  a milk punch, and a Russian Spring Punch (vodka, cassis and raspberry liquor, lemon, and champagne).


















































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