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Visiting this place was not on our agenda. However, when we passed St Pancras on our way to the British Library it looked so incredible that we took a look inside. Wow!
Something seemed familiar about St Pancras so I Googled “st pancras harry potter” just now and sure enough, I found out this wasn’t the first time I had seen this hotel before:
倉
Kura means storehouse. These buildings were common during the Edo Era for merchants, or others with a bit of money, to store their valued possessions. They weren’t made out of wood, like most buildings in Japan at the time, so they could survive fires that frequently wiped out communities. You still see them occasionally when you get out into the Japanese countryside. However, in big cities, like Tokyo, they are now exceedingly rare.
This house, in Central Tokyo, was a bit north of my Nishi-Waseda apartment, maybe in Takada or Zoshigaya–I don’t remember exactly anymore. I’m not sure if they built the house around the kura, or if they built the kura with the house and merely designed it to look old. The entire property screams, “I have valuables that need protecting!”
The Millennium Bridge was destroyed by Death Eaters at the beginning of one of the Harry Potter movies. It looked pretty good on the day I crossed it earlier this month. Ironically, the actor who played Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe, went to the City of London School right next to this bridge.
A few nights ago we were heading back to our AirBNB place (near the BT Tower) from Soho in London. We decided to go into the BBC. We were the only ones there and were able to watch a live newscast. There was also a great overview of the working area of the BBC employees. Really cool. And free!
An odd thing about London is everything is either free or really expensive. Museums, views, tours, etc. either cost you nothing or 20+ pounds. I can’t think of a single thing that was in the 1-10£ range (like most of the rest of the world).
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – Parts One & Two (Palace Theatre, London, England)
We went out for dinner in London’s Chinatown a few nights back. We got a bit lost on the way and ended up standing in front of the Palace Theatre on the night of the Harry Potter premiere. Of course the show had been sold out forever, but the theater was rather lovely at dusk.
The next day the book was released. We saw people reading it on the Tube.
Tonight we are going to see “One For My Baby” at the Tristan Bates Theatre. Thursday night, our final night in London, we will see Rory Scovel at The Invisible Dot.
After weeks of hit-and-miss (mostly miss) weather, Copenhagen has been beautiful the past week. Everyone is out and about. The picnic table far below my bedroom window is getting a workout.