It's all go!

Over the last few weeks, messages from university have been trickling in faster than usual. Reminders about DBS checks, occupational health clearance forms, showing original exam certificates to the university, accommodation acceptance, and the phase 1 reading list! Just a few things to be going along with! I'm well and truly getting stuck into getting ready! Packing is well underway, and as I've got to move everything out of my current bedroom either to university or into storage, it's a big job! (My sister is moving into my current bedroom.) I also signed up to the British Medical Association because it's free for students to sign up during summer. This gives me access to an extensive library of ebooks for students to browse before I even get to university.

My last update was a couple of months ago now, and I keep meaning to try and blog more regularly and frequently but life has been wild. Since the last post at the end of May I've finished work, been to Download Festival with my Dad, spent three weeks travelling around Japan with my Brother, and been away on a family holiday - The Secret Holiday! Now I'm home for 3 1/2 weeks before I go off to Reading Festival with my Dad. So, I'll just do a few photos for this blog! If you want to find out what Dad's secret holiday was all about I'll post it up separately straight after this.

Download Festival

Dad was super excited that we were camped on the
second to last corner of Donnington Racetrack!

Dad with the Download Dog

Friday: Cloudy and Rainy

 

Our view of the main stage

Saturday: Cloudy and Sunny

Dad's first silent disco!

Sunday: Sunny!

Japan Travel Photos

Tokyo

Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo Station

Tokyo DisneySea

Tokyo Disneyland

Sensoji Temple

Hayabusa Shinkansen - Fastest Bullet Train in the world

World's longest undersea tunnel -
Between Aomori and Hokkaido

Hokkaido

Hell Valley - Noboribetsu

Hell Valley hot spring - Noboribetsu

Ishiya Chocolate Factory - Sapporo

Otaru Aquarium - The first time
I saw a Walrus

Otaru Aquarium - The first time I saw an Octopus

Osaka

Universal Studios Osaka - The Wizarding World of
Harry Potter

P.s. If you like Harry Potter scroll down to the very bottom of this blog for the story of possibly the wildest thing that has ever happened to me! 

Osaka Aquarium - The first time I saw a Whale Shark

Osaka Castle

Osaka Aquarium - The first time I saw a Hammerhead Shark

Tennoji Zoo - The weirdest turtle I've ever seen

Tennoji Zoo - The first time I saw a Hippopotamus

Kyoto

Kinkakuji Temple - The Golden Pavillion

Bamboo Groves

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine

Torii Gate paths up Mount Inari

Fuji

Mount Fuji Subaru Fifth Station - 2305m

Back to Tokyo

Tokyo Tower

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter story!

Outside Ollivanders - Excuse the mismatched outfit, we flew
into Osaka from Sapporo that morning and were not prepared
for the heat!

So, we're at Universal Studios, Osaka, we're in The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, and there's a random queue with no sign, right near Ollivanders, so we ask what it's for and apparently its a magic show. Cool. We queue up for a few minutes and go in, except it turns out it's like the bit in the Philosopher's Stone film where Harry gets his wand, and guess who gets chosen to basically be Harry Potter... yep, me! So I have to try these different interactive wands and I'm messing up the shop, until I get the right one, and all the light and wind happens like in the film and so the wand has chosen me. I got the chance to buy it, and it came with a totally unique box, so of course I bought it! (approx £35, not bad) They also gave you a special map of the area with the spell points marked on it and the spells around the edge. So we went round the Wizarding World doing the interactive spells. There were eight spells you could do, but most of them there wasn't really much you could photograph but I will include the photos anyway! 

Wand, box, and map

Wingardium Leviosa - Levitated the Quaffle

Aguamenti - Made a water fountain

Arresto Momentum - Stopped the music box

Meteolojinx - Made it snow

Cistem Aperio - Opened the luggage

Thanks for reading!

Katherine