London Update
Just a quick update of my trip so far, mainly so that I can remember what I've been doing.
Sunday, I went to see Skyfall at 10am which was lovely as the theatre was mostly empty. The next showing was packed when I left. The movie may have moved to the top of my favorite James Bond films. It was cool to have seen it in London, for example, the day before I had been to the National Gallery and saw the painting that was in the Q/Bond scene. There were 23 minutes of commercials before the movie though which was annoying, and only previews for The Hobbit and Les Mis.
Wandered for a hour or so and got coffee before going to see the matinee of Twelfth Night which was hilarious. They had the actors onstage while getting ready for the show so you got to see them put on their costumes and makeup. Mark Rylance as Olivia had brilliant comedic timing. Twelfth Night is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays anyway, but I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time. Part of the reason was that the cast was all male--as was traditional--which makes it even all the more amusing. And of course there was Stephen Fry with his cross gartered yellow stockings.
Monday I went to the Victoria and Albert museum which has been my favorite museum thus far. It has a rather eclectic collection of decorative arts. I went specifically for the jewelry and metalwork but there were all kinds of fascinating exhibits. I think I spent three hours there easily.
I walked back from the museum past Harrods but didn't stop in. Grabbed some food and had a late lunch on a bench in Hyde Park where I was seriously hit on. Considered it briefly but I'm not really keen on random shagging for safety reasons.
Monday night I saw the play Our Boys. It was fine, the actors did a good job, but some of the dialect was difficult to understand. I felt like I needed subtitles for bits of it. But I did get to see Neville and Rory with their hands down their pants so there you go. There were a fair amount of fangirls there too. They squealed a bit at Arthur Darvill (Rory).
Tuesday I had a rather slow start but bought groceries then went back to the British Museum. The first Tuesday of the month, Sir John Soanes Museum has a candellight opening which a friend told me I must go see. They only hand out tickets to the first 200 people in line. I got there at 4:50 for the 6pm opening and I was number 75-ish. So lots of waiting in line but it is a rather fascinating little museum, especially the Picture room which had moving walls. After the museum, I got some proper fish and chips since I haven't tried any yet. Food overall has been rather bland, even the curry wasn't as spicy as I would prefer, but I had no great food expectations. I'll make up for it in Paris.
Today I went wandering since the weather was rather pleasant. I walked through Regent's Park, across the canals and up to the top of Primrose Hill which has a brilliant view over the cityscape of London. Then walked back through more of Regent's Park, had a coffee, and walked over to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street.
I was relieved to hear the election results. I haven't been paying too much attention to the news in general since I am on vacation.
Tomorrow evening is the play 55 Days. I haven't made plans for tomorrow morning yet, nor plans for Friday or Saturday. I'm still debating seeing the Tower of London, basically due to the entrance fee. It's just over 20 pounds or around $32 which is more than I really want to pay for something I only have a moderate interest in. I'd rather see another show. Whatever I do, I'm sure to miss something that someone back home will have said is a "must see".It's my holiday though, so if I want to stay in bed all day I can.
Sunday, I went to see Skyfall at 10am which was lovely as the theatre was mostly empty. The next showing was packed when I left. The movie may have moved to the top of my favorite James Bond films. It was cool to have seen it in London, for example, the day before I had been to the National Gallery and saw the painting that was in the Q/Bond scene. There were 23 minutes of commercials before the movie though which was annoying, and only previews for The Hobbit and Les Mis.
Wandered for a hour or so and got coffee before going to see the matinee of Twelfth Night which was hilarious. They had the actors onstage while getting ready for the show so you got to see them put on their costumes and makeup. Mark Rylance as Olivia had brilliant comedic timing. Twelfth Night is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays anyway, but I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time. Part of the reason was that the cast was all male--as was traditional--which makes it even all the more amusing. And of course there was Stephen Fry with his cross gartered yellow stockings.
Monday I went to the Victoria and Albert museum which has been my favorite museum thus far. It has a rather eclectic collection of decorative arts. I went specifically for the jewelry and metalwork but there were all kinds of fascinating exhibits. I think I spent three hours there easily.
I walked back from the museum past Harrods but didn't stop in. Grabbed some food and had a late lunch on a bench in Hyde Park where I was seriously hit on. Considered it briefly but I'm not really keen on random shagging for safety reasons.
Monday night I saw the play Our Boys. It was fine, the actors did a good job, but some of the dialect was difficult to understand. I felt like I needed subtitles for bits of it. But I did get to see Neville and Rory with their hands down their pants so there you go. There were a fair amount of fangirls there too. They squealed a bit at Arthur Darvill (Rory).
Tuesday I had a rather slow start but bought groceries then went back to the British Museum. The first Tuesday of the month, Sir John Soanes Museum has a candellight opening which a friend told me I must go see. They only hand out tickets to the first 200 people in line. I got there at 4:50 for the 6pm opening and I was number 75-ish. So lots of waiting in line but it is a rather fascinating little museum, especially the Picture room which had moving walls. After the museum, I got some proper fish and chips since I haven't tried any yet. Food overall has been rather bland, even the curry wasn't as spicy as I would prefer, but I had no great food expectations. I'll make up for it in Paris.
Today I went wandering since the weather was rather pleasant. I walked through Regent's Park, across the canals and up to the top of Primrose Hill which has a brilliant view over the cityscape of London. Then walked back through more of Regent's Park, had a coffee, and walked over to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street.
I was relieved to hear the election results. I haven't been paying too much attention to the news in general since I am on vacation.
Tomorrow evening is the play 55 Days. I haven't made plans for tomorrow morning yet, nor plans for Friday or Saturday. I'm still debating seeing the Tower of London, basically due to the entrance fee. It's just over 20 pounds or around $32 which is more than I really want to pay for something I only have a moderate interest in. I'd rather see another show. Whatever I do, I'm sure to miss something that someone back home will have said is a "must see".It's my holiday though, so if I want to stay in bed all day I can.