Basildon Park

Last Friday, I took a day trip up to Basildon Park. 

I started off the day bright and early at Paddington Station to catch a commuter train to Goring.  I had to grab an early train as once I arrived in Goring, I had to catch the 11am bus to the estate. As it is a small town, there are irregular bus services. Thankfully, everything worked fine, and I got to the estate a bit before 11:30am.

Before I continue, Basildon Park has been used for numerous films and television shows.  The house, itself, has a cool history. But, part of the reason I went was to take the film tour at 11:30am. Most recently, Basildon Park was used in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and the 2013 Christmas Special of Downton Abbey (season four).

The film tour provided an overview of how the house was transformed for the Downton Abbey episode that was shot there. The insides of the house were used for the Crowley's Hyde Park home with the front lawn being the setting for the Hyde Park scenes. It was fun exploring each room where a still was set up to help recall what was shot in each room.

Carson!

Mrs. Crowley

Room used as the ballroom for Downton Abbey and Pride and Prejudice 

Library

Following the tour, I explored the upper part of the house which showcased how the house had been modernized from the 1950s. 

While some of the grounds were shut down for maintenance, I did grab a few shots of the backyard.

Just a tiny backyard, huh?

Following a quick lunch, I ended up walking back to Goring as the bus schedule wasn't conforming to my schedule. I did get lost for a bit, but it helped me discover a few other small towns along the way!

Polo in the Park

I've been dying to go to a polo match since I was a little girl. 

The scene in 'Pretty Woman' where Julia Roberts gets to stomp the divots resonates with me very well.

The part of 'Winning London' with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen where they go to a polo match was something that I always wanted to do. Fairly sure I can still quote that part of the movie. 

So, as I enter my final weeks in London, I grabbed discounted tickets to Polo in the Park from the SU alumni club! This past Sunday, three of my friends and I ventured down to Putney for a match! 

The entire park was transformed for the perfect day out. From a Pimms Bus to the shopping venues to the location that I dubbed 'food truck heaven,' we had a fabulous time before the match started. 

While I am still a tad confused on the rules of the game, I attempted to follow the match. I do have to admit that it was one of the quietest sporting events that I have ever been. I wanted to cheer, so I had to keep that in check!

During what I deemed to be intermission, we got to stomp the divots! Truly made me feel like I was in 'Pretty Woman.'

It was a fabulous day out...even with getting a horrible sunburn! I would totally go to another match! 

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around." -"Love Actually"

The quote above is one of  my favorites from "Love Actually." Actually, it may rank up there on my list of favorite quotes, in general. 

I often think of this quote whenever I travel. Each time I pass through Heathrow airport, it resonates with me.  I'll think of it today as I return to London to begin my second to last term of grad school. Cheers for now! I'll be blogging from across the pond once more!

Destress

After finishing my three exams back to back last Wednesday, I took Thursday off to refresh. I organized my computer files, backed up photos, and even watched a movie. I know- the movie thing is big. Sitting there for two hours and not doing anything was huge for me.

Thursday evening, I finally crossed something off my London bucket list! I got dinner in Brick Lane with some friends.  Brick Lane is famous for Indian food, and I never have made it over there! It was well worth the experience. We grabbed curry at a restaurant called Aladdin that had been named one of the best curry places by the BBC.  

After dinner, we grabbed some drinks to celebrate being 75% done with finals. 

I'm off to go study for my last test on Wednesday! 

Arm Wrestling

These girls got me through this year!

Brett and me

Walking Tour: Notting Hill: The Movie Film Locations

"After all... I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her. "

As a huge fan of the movie, Notting Hill, it comes to no surprise that I was interested in trying to do the walking tour of the filming locations from the movie. After doing some research online, I came across a website dedicated to wear movies were shot in London.  With the guide to the movie, we were all set!

(Ignore the ad before the trailer)

With a guide down, Jenny and I decided to undertake part of it today.   Stopping along the route for some window shopping and delicious cupcakes, we soon found ourselves at the location where they filmed the travel bookstore. 

Location of the Travel Book Shop

The inspiration for the actual store is around the corner at the Notting Hill Bookstore. I picked up a book for an adventure later this week (it's a surprise) as well as the bag with the store's logo on it. Jenny and I did make our way to the back of the store to the travel section. We were sure to try to do and remember as much from the movie as possible!

Notting Hill Bookstore

Now, unfortunately, Hugh Grant was not on Portobello Road today, but that doesn't mean we couldn't pass up stopping over to see the "blue door!" While it may not actually be the original blue door anymore, it still counts, in my opinion. The balcony is visible if you go across the street, as well. 

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From there, we managed to find the house used for the birthday party, the gardens that Anna and William break into, the coffee shop where William spells the orange juice, as well as the outside of the building used for the tattoo parlor shown in the beginning scenes. For those of you do not remember, the tattoo parlor was with a man who got a tattoo with 'I love Ken' on his arm. 

Tattoo Parlor Location

Coffee Shop

Birthday Party!

Reenacting the garden scene

All in all, it was a fun outing as we found all the locations! We left out a few that were farther away from Notting Hill, but tomorrow is another day...