If You Build It

Since Josh got to plan this trip, I got to tag along to place that I otherwise wouldn't have ventured.  This is not because I am not interested in them, but merely because I wouldn't remember that they exist in the hurried planning stages.  The first of these was, of course, Legoland.

When people heard that we were going to Legoland, there were two types of reactions: jealousy (often with an oh-I've-been-meaning-to-take-my-nephew slant) or disbelief (perhaps that we are such huge nerds).  This Legoland was not just any Legoland, either.  It has a special Star Wars exhibit, which just opened last year, making it Josh's fantasy land.  Legos AND Star Wars?  Nerd overload.

Given the reactions, it was no surprise that we were the only people on the bus that hadn't recently given birth or completed the first grade.  But in many ways that made it the most enjoyable scenario.  The park is vast (overwhelming for our legs, let alone miniature ones) and the Lego creations are magnificent. We walked through every themed area, posing with all the Lego creations from the sandy Egyptian obelisks and stereotypical Arab camel trader to the leering dragons and swarthy Vikings.  We did save the best for last, though.  Well, Star Wars came last.  But just before that we went around Miniland.  The only way to describe this is possibly the most fun customized architectural Lego creations imaginable.  Boats that sail through ponds drawn by magnets.  Cathedrals and famous office buildings and castles and peasant villages.  A pagan midsummer party at Stonehenge.  Romeo and Juliet dangling off a balcony, lusting after each other with the irrationality of teenagers everywhere.  It must have been so much fun to design and execute this part of the park.  Nearly all the scenes were from London, the UK, or other parts of (northern) Western Europe, suggesting that the various Legoland parks try to represent their own regions in their Minilands.

And then there was the Star Wars exhibit.  Small children were not allowed in without an adult, given the battle sound effects, dim lighting, moving replica ships and leering life sized recreations.  Adults acting like small children entered undetected, so Josh and I got in without issue.  It was quite fun, more so because Josh could explain everything, from naming characters to worlds to plot twists.

And then home again.  Sadly, we didn't have time to explore Windsor or its eponymous castle.  We had a lot to do that evening: we were moving!  We bid farewell to James et al. and took a very confusing route across London to my aunt's temporary apartment in Greenwich, with a pit stop at my cousin's Goldsmiths MFA art show on the way.  The scene was, well, artsy.  I'm not sure what the British take on hipsters is, but they were out in full force.  As with the modern art museum, some exhibits delighted while others confused and a couple horrified.  But such is art.

It was good to be with family.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner at a nearby restaurant (The New Cross Inn, I believe*) and ended the night snuggled up on a pull-out couch.  Hurray for free housing!

* Note: the pizzas are great, but the steak burger is the real winner.  The waitress suggested it, and while going halvesies - the usual - Josh and I both loved the burger most.

Spotted: 43 million bricks.  That's the number used to create JUST MiniLand at Legoland Windsor.  Josh and I wondered aloud at how many were in the whole park.