October 18, 2011

October 18, 2011

Wow, what an INCREDIBLE day I London! We woke up this morning around 7:45 and headed down to breakfast. We were served so well and had tea, orange juice, cereal, bacon (not me :P ), eggs, tomatoes, toast and jam…so delicious! The people here are just wonderful. We decided to take the bus to Hyde Park around nine so we could take a double-decker bus, of course :) We took it to Royal Albert Hall and headed into the park. It was a beautiful fall day—sunny, a bit of wind, and the brisk autumn arm. The leaves were twirling in the air around us…I was so happy. We walked beneath the golden trees, along the water, seeing Peter Pan, the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, and even some Royal guards practicing their horsemanship. It was lovely walk on a lovely day.

We then headed to Harrods (I had never been there!) and gazed at all of the incredible things inside. It’s absolutely crazy! After that, we walked to Buckingham Palace where we accidentally happened upon the changing of the guard. It was so crowded but pretty cool to see. Plus, we got to see a lot of beef-eaters so it was worth it :P From there we walked to Westminster Abbey and Big Ben, then across the river, stopping back at the National Theatre and heading down the river toward the Globe Theatre. We stopped for a light lunch at “Eat” and continued on our way. The wind had picked up and some clouds appeared so we stopped at Starbucks further down the path—I had caramel hot chocolate, which tasted like fall! We then saw the Globe Theatre (we did not take the tour) and headed across Millennium Bridge to St. Paul’s. From there, Franzi headed off toward Tower Bridge and the Tower of London and I headed off to visit some of my favorite places.

I went to Covent Garden first, then to Leicester Square to look at theatre tickets for Thursday evening. While I was there, I noticed the theatre where Driving Miss Daisy was playing, starring James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave. I figured I’d at least look into tickets (how could you pass up such an incredible show?!) and got a ticket from tomorrow at 2:30 for ten pounds. It was so cheap because it will be really high up, in the highest balcony, but it’s DEFINITELY worth it. Just to see those two on stage together will be incredible.  I am so excited :)

Then I headed to Piccadilly Circus where I met up with Franzi again at 4:30 and we walked around for a little bit. At 5:30, I met my friend Simon (from high school and theatre) and we headed out to find dinner. Franzi met a friend of hers who was studying in London at the same time, so we went off with our respective friends. We found a little Chinese restaurant in Chinatown that was delicious (there’s no good Chinese food in Florence!) and spent an hour and a half catching up. It was so nice to be with a friend from home! At 7:30 we went to see Phantom of the Opera together, as our high school had just put it on last year. We had wonderful seats and we were very excited. However, the show was even more incredible than we could have ever imagined. The cast was flawless, the voices were breathtaking, the special effects mind-blowing and the orchestra dazzling…absolutely stunning. I left the theatre speechless. Wow—I haven’t the words. We stood at the stage door, just for fun, meeting the actress who played Christine (who was my height!) and Raoul (who was so cute). They were both very charming :) Then I said goodbye to Simon, and Franzi and I (and the rest of the theatre crowds) took the tube home. I journaled and then went straight to bed. A truly lovely day in London.