Alex’s 10th Birthday Present

Shannon E. Perry

Several years ago, while in India, I met an American woman who was accompanied by her ten-year-old granddaughter. She told me that when any of her grandchildren reached ten years of age, she would take them anywhere in the world they wanted to go. I thought that was a brilliant idea and decided to do the same.

When my grandson, Alex, turned ten in 2018, he selected London as his destination. With the help of his mother, Alex and I started planning for the nine-day trip. A big draw to London for Alex was his love of the Harry Potter series. Alex at that time was on book five; I read and enjoyed book one in preparation for the trip.

Alex and I began our great adventure with an overnight flight to London. When we arrived, Alex was invited into the cockpit and the pilot took our picture. As we were exiting, I realized I didn’t have my phone. I had left it in the pocket of my seat. The flight attendant was unable to locate it and I was not allowed to look for it. (I realized afterward that I gave her the wrong seat number). Apparently, I was more nervous about this adventure that I had anticipated.

When we went to immigration I had quite a fright. I had a paper from Alex’s parents giving me permission to seek medical care, if necessary, but the immigration official wanted to see written permission to take Alex out of the country. I had no idea I needed such a document, but apparently if someone is taking a child out of the country, a signed consent from a parent is necessary. Alex did verify that I am his Nana, and that proved to be enough, thankfully. After a lecture from the official about human trafficking, we were permitted to go through.

Our hotel was next to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Alex loved looking out the window at the River Thames, watching tug boats, and seeing the Tower Bridge which was lighted at night. We went for a walk, and I discovered that I didn’t have my camera; apparently, I had left it in a restroom, and it was gone when I went back to look for it. Fortunately, Alex had brought his, so we have a photo record of our trip. After the stress of losing my phone and my camera subsided, I began to relax.

Our first adventure was a Hop On, Hop Off bus tour of the city. Alex kept his nose to the window the whole three-hour trip. I was afraid he would be bored but he said he was enjoying the sights and didn’t want to “Hop Off.” Alex’s only disappointment was learning that Big Ben is being refurbished and would be covered for the next few years.

After the ride, we toured Tower Bridge and climbed the 206 steps to the top. The upper bridge and two glass sections offered a view below of people, the river, and boats. Alex had seen pictures of women doing yoga on those sections and it “freaked him out.” He walked around the glass sections but not on them. We went into the engine room that powers the raising of the bascules (sections raised and lowered using counterweights) to let ships go through. Alex stopped at one of the many kiosks near Tower Bridge and bought a souvenir hat for his father. Later he found a stuffed animal for his sister. Thoughtful gifts with no coaching from Nana.

We cruised on the Thames from the Tower Quay to Westminster and back. I worried about Alex remembering to look “right left right” when crossing streets, but he mastered the different traffic patterns quickly.

One of the challenges of travelling with a 10-year-old is finding food that he liked or, at least, would eat. We ate a lot of pizza and pasta. There was no fine dining on the schedule.

Buckingham Palace was high on Alex’s list of places to visit. Our timing was good as the palace was open for tours in August because the Queen was in Scotland at Balmoral Castle. We toured the State Rooms and saw elegant furniture and the priceless art collection. Alex wanted to sit on some of the lovely chairs, but no one is allowed near the furniture. On another day, we visited Windsor Castle. Alex thought Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle were about the same, but he supposed that was because the same people lived in both. A good insight for a 10-year-old!

Our next stop was the British Museum’s amazing historical collections. Alex’s favorite class in school is history and he enjoyed seeing the actual Rosetta Stone, Parthenon friezes, mummies and sarcophagi, Greek and Roman statues, and a Moi from Easter Island. With our limited time, we had to be selective and skipped many other important exhibits.

In Lacock, a picturesque village in the Cotswolds, Alex was happy to see the Abbey that was used in the Harry Potter films. We visited a chocolate shop in Bath that Alex said had the best chocolate he’d ever eaten in his life. After buying some to take home to his mother, we went on to the last destination on our tour: Stonehenge.

When Alex was little, his grandfather told him about Stonehenge and showed him pictures. Over the next few years, Alex built many little Stonehenges out of rocks and Legos. This was his favorite stop of the day. The stones are surrounded by a fence so one cannot get close to them. Stonehenge was smaller than Alex expected but he still enjoyed the visit on a windy day. At the Visitors Center, there were three small Neolithic huts with thatched roofs constructed to demonstrate the homes of the workers of Stonehenge. Alex went inside and commented that he liked to think about living in them.

On the way back to London, we stopped near an Underground Station and Alex experienced his first ride on the “tube.”

The next morning, we had planned to walk to the Tower of London and take the tour. However, it rained all morning, so the Beefeaters,ceremonial guards at the Tower, were not guiding. We saw the Crown Jewels, which are spectacular, but we didn’t see any of the famous ravens; they were smart enough to stay out of the rain.

The Underground took us to King’s Cross Station and Platform 9 ¾, which Harry Potter and the Weasleys went through to board the Hogwarts Express. Alex bought a beautiful stuffed white owl (Hedwig) and a Ron Weasley wand. I bought a golden snitch necklace. Back in Westminster, we rode the London Eye and enjoyed the great views of London. Alex thought the Eye was amazing and said, “Where else do you see a Ferris wheel right next to the water?”

On our last day, we took a Warner Brothers Studio Tour, where all of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. It was a small place, so it was hard to believe that the movies were filmed there. We saw the Knight Bus, which Alex said he never dreamed he could get inside of. In the studio we saw props and costumes used in the films. We walked down Diagon Alley, through the Forbidden Forest, into Hagrid’s house with Fang inside. The home of the Dursleys at #4 Privet Drive, Harry’s cupboard under the stairs, and the room with all the letters flying around were delightful. We continued to the Great Hall, Dumbledore’s office, the magic stairs, the Triwizard Cup, and an impressive model of Hogwarts. Alex posed in front of the Hogwarts Express and sat in one of the seventeen flying cars used in the films. We tried the Butterbeer but didn’t care for it (think of Root beer with melted butter). Videos of training the animals were interesting. Apparently, owls are very hard to train but we saw the trainers working with Hedwig, who flew to the right place on command. This tour was the highlight of Alex’s trip.

It was a memorable trip with time for Alex and his grandmother to spend some quality time together. Alex said it was the most awesome week of his life. Nana is looking forward to a tenth birthday present for Alex’s sister, Zoe, who wants to visit the Roman Colosseum and Pompeii.