New Zealand, Part 2: A Journey that Lived Up to Expectations

I don't usually wake up at 6:00 am and skip around the room, but then again, I don't usually go to Hobbiton.

I 

Visiting Matamata would have been enough to smile about without all the Lord of the Rings nerdiness. What a beautiful place. That sign is in the middle of downtown Matamata, which means I ran across traffic to sit on the little wizard statue. Worth it.

 Here's Michael, welcoming you. He also has crackers and a man bag.

The drive to the set was beautiful. I'm fairly certain there are always big puffy clouds and that ridiculously green grass. All the sudden, we were walking through the path that Gandalf rides through. The other tour people walked right through, while I repeatedly squeezed Michael's arm and make a squeaky noise. It was so pretty.

"A wizard is never late." 

Here we are, looking huge. Some of the hobbit holes are sized for 3'8" hobbits and some are designed for people our size.

So pretty.  

I might need a sign like this for my front door. 

The tree at the top is fake. They had a real one for Lord of the Rings, but it changed too much, so they built one for The Hobbit. Looks pretty good to me. 

Looking down from Bag End. I wonder where the Sackville-Baggins live?

This is where Sam, Rosie, Goldilocks, and little Frodo live. What? You didn't know the names of the whole Gamgee family? Well, I'm cooler than you.

On the way to the Green Dragon.

 

He kind of does have hobbit feet, though. Have you ever seen Michael not wearing shoes? Me neither. 

 

We decided to have our next wedding in Hobbiton. You're all invited.

Michael started practicing dancing early. 

The only brew for the brave and true...

We learned that all the frogs had to be caught and removed from the pond, because they were too loud for filming. No frogs in middle earth. 

Sorry, Kermit. 

It was bigger and even more beautiful than I imagined it could be. It was also very fun to watch the movies when we got home, since it is such a concrete place to us now. My 13 year old heart was exploding, and my grown-up heart was pretty happy too.