Hobbiton

The Lord of the Rings is a special trilogy to me - it sparked my love for the fantasy genre and the films hold association to some wonderful memories. As I was growing up, my brother and I would enjoy watching them together and fantasizing about life on middle earth, and one quote from the series expresses how proud I am to have him as my twin: “I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the Ages of this world alone.” I have other happy memories going to a special friend's house, with my brother of course, to enjoy watching them as we all played a board game. So, as much as I love the books and the films as they are, it is the memories I have of escaping into the world of middle earth that fills me with joy. This is why, as Phoebe and I took the tour bus travelling along the farm road into the shire and the Hobbiton move set, I was unexpectedly overwhelmed with emotion and, embarrassingly, could not stop myself from forming a few tears. Despite fantasizing about it, there was never a moment in my life that I actually believed that I would be able to visit the world of middle earth, and yet here I was, and it all felt so real.

Once the bus arrived, our tour group hurried off and gathered in a circle just outside the entrance, right where Gandalf travels by horse and cart into the shire. We discovered some facts about the movie set from our guide, as we entered and took a plethora of photos. The movie set we saw today was not the exact original seen in the Lord of the Rings films, because this was made of polystyrene and the majority of it was burnt down on the conclusion of filming. Video footage of this was taken, and used in the film for Frodo's vision, induced by the lady Galadriel, of the shire burning. The entire movie set was then rebuilt, as permanent structures this time, for the purpose of filming the Hobbit trilogy, and then opened for public visiting in 2012.

I wondered in amazement as we listened to other facts our tour guide offered, peering into hobbit holes and imagining real life hobbits meandering about their small town. We soon arrived at the Baggins' house, and chaos ensued as our entire tour group attempted to excitedly take photos. After wondering further on, we circled the lake and traversed the bridge, arriving at the Green Dragon Inn. To finish our "Unexpected Journey" we enjoyed a hobbits ale as we looked across the lake of the shire, drinking in the surrealistic landscape.

I was sad to leave Hobbiton, but I knew then already that this would not be the only time we would visit. I was over the moon to be able to share this trip with Phoebe, but I am excited for the day that Matty will come to visit us in New Zealand and I can take him there as well. However, before I can take him on this trip, both Phoebe and I will be going to Hobbiton again to run across the shire like a little hobbit in the Halfling Marathon! I am beyond excited for this, the accumulation of two things I love, how could I be anything else?