Day 33 - A Hobbit for a Day

So today I embarked on an adventure of epic proportions, and it all started at the wee hours of 6 in the morning. I was going to visit Hobbiton, the hometown of Bilbo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, and Frodo Baggins, located in the Shire. To do this I needed to catch three buses all before 8 in the morning, with the last travelling to another bus to take me into Hobbiton. Luckily my roommate drove me so I didn't have to take the first bus and could have more time to get ready and make the third bus.

After sleeping, reading, and playing on my phone, three hours later, I finally arrived in Matamata where I would catch one more bus that would be the tour bus (see the gallery, which includes this bus). We drove another half hour to see wonderful, lush flowing hills that directed us to the entrance of Hobbiton.

There was a tour of around 20 of us that walked the paths around Hobbiton, seeing the Hobbit holes and their scenery. We were told stories and factoids about how the Hobbits lived, such as they got taxed based on how many windows they have or that the wealthiest Hobbits lived on the highest point in town.

At the end, we were directed the Green Dragon Inn to have a cup of home brewed beer. I, of course, took the dark as I was both hungry and thirsty. I ended up talking to a guy from France about travelling, the EU, and visiting Canada. He was very happy with Canada and our new PM. We then gathered and walked out of Hobbiton shortly thereafter.

Overall, it was a great experience seeing some pretty cool scenery and learned how well they keep it, hiring maintenance and gardeners. It was, in my opinion, a little bit rushed, but overall I got to see how they could make an ordinary environment into something magical and mystical for a movie set. With the advance of computers, much of this may not be made in as much detail and we can lose some awesome art. It is amazing to see different parts of a movie to see what makes it so great. Seeing the props that are used, the background music that is played, to the styles of costumes that are put on. So much detail for something that may not get consciously noted. A refound respect for the magic of movies.

It's good to say that I was there, because there are people who love LOTR and never get to witness this.

#Daily #Tourist