In which I blather about my trip
I have been so un-posty lately, I apologize. I like seeing how all y'all are doing, I can only hope you feel the same way about me.
Monday night we got back from our whirlwind trip to London. It ranks up in my top 5 vacations, for sure. Up there with our blissfully boring honeymoon in Bermuda and the trip to London where Mark proposed.
We left Wednesday night and it was a very stressful departure for me - our plane left at 5:30 and I was at work until 3:30 frantically finishing everything up which is never cool. And we had to flat out sprint (can it be considered a sprint when it's from one end of the terminal to the end of another?) to catch our connecting flight in Philadelphia. I am not as fit as I think I am.
I have visited England in spring before, but never has the weather been so lovely. The tulips were up and the sun shone softly and clouds were scudding across the sky with a nice light breeze and it was blissful.
We arrived at Gatwick early Thursday morning and Express'ed it to Victoria Station. I love old train stations. I love that pigeons fly through them. I love the slight chilliness. I love the people rushing. I am not a fan of transferring to the tube, I hate that flight of stairs that always gets bottle-necked. I love that I go often enough to know that it always gets bottle-necked.
This time we tried a new place to stay. We are cheap travelers. We are always, but particularly so in London with the horrible exchange rate. Usually we stay by Shepard's Bush Green, in a grotty little walk-up that's supercheap but slightly scary cleanliness-wise. The towels and sheets are always clean, and the manager knows Mark due to his frequent travel, and more to the point it's close to the grounds and therefore close to our regular pubs and our regular kebab shop. Mmm...kebabs.
We stayed closer to Hammersmith, about halfway between their tube station(s) and Shepard's Bush. We stayed above a pub, and it was lovely. Surprisingly, we didn't spend a huge amount of time in the pub. Our room was up 4 flights of stairs at the very top and it looked out over Brook Green (I think that's what this particular green was called) and it was airy and light and clean. And due to some package rate it worked out to be 10 pounds less than our usual spot. And still walking distance to the football and the drunkenness.
After cleaning up we set out for Leicester Square and the Garrick Theatre. I have geekish tendencies, I admit, but I married into even more geekishness. My sweetheart is a Doctor Who fan, and I have become one by marriage. I'd never seen an episode before, I guess my PBS back home never carried it. I really liked it when I saw it, particularly the Tom Baker era and when the new series started I really began to like it. I've always loved Christopher Eccleston, I grew to love David Tennant. Billie Piper I only knew about through her pop career and my love of trashy English tabloids. I remember reading all about her divorce from Chris Evans.
So my beloved Billie Piper is in a play called Treats that started on Thursday. We went to the matinee performance but the official premiere was Thursday night. We had time to kill so we went to the pub next door for a few pints. I look over and there is Billie Piper and the costar she is dating! Ok, I only saw the back of her head, but there's no mistaking that hair or that voice or the coat and bag I've seen her carrying in tabloid photos! So that was my exciting celebrity encounter. And it was definitely her costar he has a very unmistakable face.
The play was thought-provoking in a good way. It's the kind of story that makes me feel so sorry for all of us women who try so hard to be loved. It got sort of mixed reviews - mostly based on the dated nature of the play (it was updated from 1976) and the thin characters but her reviews were generally favorable and WE liked it which is really the important thing.
We were at sort of lose ends afterwards and wanted to talk some more so we ended up at another pub in the area, which is always a bit hit-or-miss there as it can be quite touristy. But we certainly made an early night of it so we could get going Friday morning.
Monday night we got back from our whirlwind trip to London. It ranks up in my top 5 vacations, for sure. Up there with our blissfully boring honeymoon in Bermuda and the trip to London where Mark proposed.
We left Wednesday night and it was a very stressful departure for me - our plane left at 5:30 and I was at work until 3:30 frantically finishing everything up which is never cool. And we had to flat out sprint (can it be considered a sprint when it's from one end of the terminal to the end of another?) to catch our connecting flight in Philadelphia. I am not as fit as I think I am.
I have visited England in spring before, but never has the weather been so lovely. The tulips were up and the sun shone softly and clouds were scudding across the sky with a nice light breeze and it was blissful.
We arrived at Gatwick early Thursday morning and Express'ed it to Victoria Station. I love old train stations. I love that pigeons fly through them. I love the slight chilliness. I love the people rushing. I am not a fan of transferring to the tube, I hate that flight of stairs that always gets bottle-necked. I love that I go often enough to know that it always gets bottle-necked.
This time we tried a new place to stay. We are cheap travelers. We are always, but particularly so in London with the horrible exchange rate. Usually we stay by Shepard's Bush Green, in a grotty little walk-up that's supercheap but slightly scary cleanliness-wise. The towels and sheets are always clean, and the manager knows Mark due to his frequent travel, and more to the point it's close to the grounds and therefore close to our regular pubs and our regular kebab shop. Mmm...kebabs.
We stayed closer to Hammersmith, about halfway between their tube station(s) and Shepard's Bush. We stayed above a pub, and it was lovely. Surprisingly, we didn't spend a huge amount of time in the pub. Our room was up 4 flights of stairs at the very top and it looked out over Brook Green (I think that's what this particular green was called) and it was airy and light and clean. And due to some package rate it worked out to be 10 pounds less than our usual spot. And still walking distance to the football and the drunkenness.
After cleaning up we set out for Leicester Square and the Garrick Theatre. I have geekish tendencies, I admit, but I married into even more geekishness. My sweetheart is a Doctor Who fan, and I have become one by marriage. I'd never seen an episode before, I guess my PBS back home never carried it. I really liked it when I saw it, particularly the Tom Baker era and when the new series started I really began to like it. I've always loved Christopher Eccleston, I grew to love David Tennant. Billie Piper I only knew about through her pop career and my love of trashy English tabloids. I remember reading all about her divorce from Chris Evans.
So my beloved Billie Piper is in a play called Treats that started on Thursday. We went to the matinee performance but the official premiere was Thursday night. We had time to kill so we went to the pub next door for a few pints. I look over and there is Billie Piper and the costar she is dating! Ok, I only saw the back of her head, but there's no mistaking that hair or that voice or the coat and bag I've seen her carrying in tabloid photos! So that was my exciting celebrity encounter. And it was definitely her costar he has a very unmistakable face.
The play was thought-provoking in a good way. It's the kind of story that makes me feel so sorry for all of us women who try so hard to be loved. It got sort of mixed reviews - mostly based on the dated nature of the play (it was updated from 1976) and the thin characters but her reviews were generally favorable and WE liked it which is really the important thing.
We were at sort of lose ends afterwards and wanted to talk some more so we ended up at another pub in the area, which is always a bit hit-or-miss there as it can be quite touristy. But we certainly made an early night of it so we could get going Friday morning.