(via okay-awesome)

After a long day of exploring, we started off our second day a little later than the first - partly because we had had such a long first day, but mostly because our Harry Potter Exhibition ticket was for entrance at 1pm. Once awake, we dawdled along somewhere off George Street before we found ourselves sitting by the corner window of a little French sandwich cafe. 

We sat, chatted, relaxed, and waited anxiously for time to pass so we could head on over to the Powerhouse Museum. On our dry run the day before, it only took us a good 15 minutes to walk from our hostel to the museum - and that was with getting sidetracked and lost - and here we were, at this wonderful little cafe, not knowing what to do with ourselves for the next few hours.

Little time passed, and we just couldn’t take it, so by 11am, we were already at the Powerhouse Museum. As we entered, hundreds of patrons had already passed through, and we saw many people carrying around these little brown bags that were undoubtedly filled with all the amazing Harry Potter merchandise.

Still unable to enter the actual exhibition, we decided to take a look at everything else the Powerhouse had to offer. First stop: The Wiggles Exhibition. Thinking this would just be a fun and affective way to kill time, we definitely did not expect all the little tid-bits of Wiggles trivia we would find along the way. While there were many interactive games for the little’uns, looking through all of their gold records, VHS tapes and DVDs, and every one of their “all access” passes, as well as the history of the Wiggles skivvy (apparently no one wanted to be yellow, so Greg had to ‘grow to love his skivvy’) was a lot more interesting than I thought it would ever be. Gosh, we’re such suckers for behind-the-scenes info.

Time passed once more, and we found ourselves gazing at the Flying Ford Anglia, and loitering around the foyer. By 12:15pm, we had collected our audio tour and snuck our way into the pre-line. (Yes, there was a pre-line before the actual exhibition line). We had our photo taken, and before we knew it, we were at the top of the line. Upon entering, we were told by the exhibition staff that a heap of cornish pixies had recently escaped from their cage - “so be sure to keep your cameras in your bag, as they may be stolen!” 

Eep!

One alohomora later, and we were in. Oh my god, we were in. I can’t even describe how perfect and amazing this entire experience was. After watching in envy as all of these little kids were sorted into their respected houses, a curtain rose, and everything went black. Hedwig’s Theme started to play, fog began to settle, and a little light came racing towards us - only for us to realise that it was a professor holding a lamp, looking for her lost first years to guide into Hogwarts. “There you are, first years! Come on - follow me!” We walked hastily passed the Hogwarts Express, and straight into the Great Hall. We yelped, internally squealed, and yes, a tear may have also been shed. Everything was bliss.

We looked meticulously over each amazing set piece, and though everything was spectacular, it wasn’t hard to believe that so much precision and care was taken into such an amazing franchise. It was incredible to see how big the trio was in each film through their clothing - though it was quite a concern how tiny they were in Prison Of Azkaban (there’s no denying - you all know you thought they looked their best in that film). Their dorm room beds were a lot smaller than expected, the centaurs and baby thestral looked like they would move at any second, and I remember being utterly stunned by Fawkes’ beauty, as well as the Petrified Colin Creevey. Dumbledore and McGonagall’s robes were just as perfect as you’d ever imagine, and you could just imagine how handsome Ron would look in his Quidditch uniform. Though walking through Hogwarts was very, very, very cool, sitting in Hagrid’s Hut was a bit of a highlight - and the cool air and smell of wet grass and moss really brought out the amazingness of the Forbidden Forest.

I can’t recall thinking that anything was missing from the exhibition, and really nothing could be faulted. Though the one thing I did hate seeing was the stupid clown Boggart Ron conjured up during Lupin’s Defense class. (But it was still pretty cool). Ugh!

After a few hours, we were sad to say goodbye to the exhibition, though the gift shoppe was a nice place to escape to. We both left with a wand in hand - myself with Luna’s, and Stef with Hermione’s - as well as the Hogwarts house crest badges, and the exhibition guide. Stef also bought a beanie for her mum, a tshirt for her sister, and a tie for her dad - my family are not quite as partial to Harry Potter as hers. Fools. 

We trecked back to our hostel, and locked our merchandise safely away after a little play. After exhausting all of our excitement, we had a wee little nap, and then spent the evening walking down Broadway. We had dinner at a nice little Chinese restaurant before stumbling across to Max Brenner for dessert. I had never been to Max Brenner before, though my brother has raved about it for years. The place was amazing, and it was very cool to see the exposed piping have chocolate run through it. Whether it was real or not is debatable. We settled with the chocolate waffles and hot chocolate to share, and boy, if we weren’t already in a food coma - we were now. It was a lovely way to end such a perfect day.