This past weekend, I traveled to London to visit two of my best friends. Being with my people, and not to mention in one of the best cities in the world was amazing, to say the least. We had a weekend filled with laughs, adventures, and memories that will last us a lifetime. One of the craziest things that happened to me while in London was something that began with a simple visit to the Tower of London. After a long day at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour for the making of the Harry Potter films (if you’re not jealous at this point, I may need to check your pulse), we decided to take an evening stroll along the Thames. After stopping at the London Bridge, we hung a quick left and ended up at the Tower of London. Since it was 17 pounds just to get in (around $25), we decided to just walk around and enjoy the beauty from the outside. What can I say? I’m a tourist on a budget! As we approached the tube station to get home, we passed a car with a Game of Thrones decal, and a bunch of tents. At the time, I thought this setup was nothing more than a raffle or publicity event for the show. So, we were on our way.
About half an hour later, however, my friend received a text from someone she knew talking about the Game of Thrones premiere that night. At that point, the instinctual GoT fan living inside of me knew that we had to go back. Lo and behold, only an hour later, the red carpet for the new season premiere was in full swing. And let me tell you, HBO went all out for this one. There were bonfires set up everywhere, and a giant projector that was showing animations of dragons and interviews that were going on inside the tower. Let’s not forget all of this is taking place on the lawn of an ancient fortress. All of it was 100% Game of Thrones.
We spent about an hour at the premiere, catching glimpses of whomever showed up next (Lena Headey, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Alfie Allen, and even Charles Dance), watching the live interviews, and being shocked by how overwhelming the red carpet actually seems. After a while, we got cold, tired and hungry, and decided to grab something to eat. But, I can honestly say that showing up to the Game of Thrones season premiere was one of the coolest, most spur-of-the-moment things I have done. That’s what I really love about traveling—you never really know what you are going to come across on any given journey. Whether it was a talked-about premiere, a trip to Windsor while the Queen was actually in residence, or teatime with the most hilarious storeowner I have ever met, London was full of surprises that I’m sure I will carry with me for a lifetime.