For the second time in 2012, I left my poor husband at home and took off for London, England! Some day we'll go together. Or he'll go by himself. Or with a bunch of dudes. Who knows?!
One of my dear friends here is leaving next month and in discussion of her time in Europe, we discovered that she'd never been to London. WHAT?!? The land of Jane Austen and the Queen!! GASP! A girls trip was promptly planned. But what to do in London with just girls???? My immediate plan went to: "What would my husband never want to do?" And the answer, like divine inspiration, fell into my lap: see a bunch of shows. Some razzle, a bit of dazzle, sequins and jazz hands. It would be enough to drive him to insanity and to drive me into giddiness.
4 ladies boarded the insanity of Easy Jet and set off for Stansted Airport with gusto! A few games of iPad Air Hockey later, we were in the land of the Queen! Friday afternoon we took in London in all of its rainy glory, grabbing a pint, briskly walking through Picadilly Circus and literally sprinting through the London Underground. Lesson learned: The Apollo Victoria and The Apollo are two different theaters. About 15 minutes apart. We got to the Apollo only to see a show that was decidedly not Wicked on the billboards. Whoops! Somehow, the Tube schedule worked in our favor and magically, we ended up in our seats with a bottle of wine 5 minutes before the lights dimmed and the chorus began. Phew!!
There was so much in London that I loved but in an effort to sum up a whimsically wonderful trip in a few paragraphs, here are the highlights.
1. Top Hat: I have long been a fan of musical theatre. My mom would gleefully blast "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" from Oklahoma each Saturday morning as a call to chores. Rogers and Hammerstein musical melodies mingled with the smell of Windex on a weekly basis. Top Hat is one of those plays that has a forgettable plot thankfully mixed with some very well timed tap dancing, lots of singing and, oh sweet heavens, costume changes a-plenty! Silk and sparkles, top hats and tails danced their way between the dry-humored British butler and a very politically incorrect Italian fashion designer. It was marvelous!!! I sat on the edge of my seat, grinning ear to ear for nearly 3 hours straight.
2. High Tea: For any of you who loved tea parties as a child, high tea in London is like your grandmother's tea parties on crack. Tiered trays with abnormally small sandwiches, silver tea strainers in their own little strainer holders, and doormen in top hats (sans the razzle dazzle of the musical). The host was so friendly and quick to take our picture from multiple angles. It was probably the most expensive tiny sandwich that I have ever consumed but my goodness, it was such a fantasy of 5-year-old some 20+ years later that it was totally worth it!
3. Eating Ethnic Food: Aside from watching musicals and wandering the streets of London, we ate. A lot. I feel like looking back, most of my pictures were of fancy gates and food. From my hilariously named beer ("Old Rosie, the Cloudy Scrumpy" Seriously??? That's SUCH an awesome name!! For like anything! Cloudy Scrumpy could be such a great band name. Or what you call your car. Or your dog, though that's a long dog name. Ponder it. Cloudy Scrumpy's going to catch on like wildfire!), to an Indian brunch place (oh my goodness! Naan + sausage?? Stop it!!! You're killing me, London!) and finally some serioulsy divine sushi at a very authentic little Japanese place. We Americans living in Italy always seem to miss extremely flavorful ethnic food since living here. It was very nice to get that little piece of multiculturalism that I often miss.
London, Round 3 is going to have to go on the books soon!
Cheers,
Lynne
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| While I didn't meet the actual Queen, I got this picture with the M&M version of the Queen! |
One of my dear friends here is leaving next month and in discussion of her time in Europe, we discovered that she'd never been to London. WHAT?!? The land of Jane Austen and the Queen!! GASP! A girls trip was promptly planned. But what to do in London with just girls???? My immediate plan went to: "What would my husband never want to do?" And the answer, like divine inspiration, fell into my lap: see a bunch of shows. Some razzle, a bit of dazzle, sequins and jazz hands. It would be enough to drive him to insanity and to drive me into giddiness.
 |
| Eve (left) and Micaela (right) take pleasure in the Cheapside stop on the Tube! We loved the British snobbery and gleefully quoted Jane Austen! |
There was so much in London that I loved but in an effort to sum up a whimsically wonderful trip in a few paragraphs, here are the highlights.
 |
| Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre in West End! |
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| High Tea, the Downton Abbey Blend! |
There she is: Old Rosie, the Cloudy Scrumpy. Love it!
3. Eating Ethnic Food: Aside from watching musicals and wandering the streets of London, we ate. A lot. I feel like looking back, most of my pictures were of fancy gates and food. From my hilariously named beer ("Old Rosie, the Cloudy Scrumpy" Seriously??? That's SUCH an awesome name!! For like anything! Cloudy Scrumpy could be such a great band name. Or what you call your car. Or your dog, though that's a long dog name. Ponder it. Cloudy Scrumpy's going to catch on like wildfire!), to an Indian brunch place (oh my goodness! Naan + sausage?? Stop it!!! You're killing me, London!) and finally some serioulsy divine sushi at a very authentic little Japanese place. We Americans living in Italy always seem to miss extremely flavorful ethnic food since living here. It was very nice to get that little piece of multiculturalism that I often miss.
London, Round 3 is going to have to go on the books soon!
Cheers,
Lynne
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