London Day Two

     Lizzy got up early and worked out in the hotel gym. She then met me in my room, as her roommates are late risers. I set my alarm for 6 am but got up before it each day. Our shower had a movable glass half-wall that let the water pour out, so the floor was flooded nearly every day. We asked for more towels to ease the issue. As some of the group were going to see Hercules at night, and we didn't add that on, we set about deciding what to do. Emma the Musical was playing, and I loved the idea of doing something Austen, but Lizzy wasn't too keen. Valery was going to Starlight Express; she had gone it see it in Germany, back when she was in the Air Force, and loved it. She had gone into the show blind, and she wanted her son to have that same experience. As I told Lizzy about it, she got excited, so we got tickets and planned to go with them. Then we headed down for breakfast.  The hotel advertised a full English breakfast for an additional £14. The complementary breakfast actually included everything for an English breakfast plus more, and it was all you can eat, so I pity the unwitting visitor who shelled out more for less. 

    This was my breakfast nearly every day. Some days, I added the beans too; I stayed away from the mushrooms, though. It was a very filling meal. Which was beneficial for our days were very full. Our second day was to begin in Notting Hill, the street of movie fame of the same name. So off to the tube we went! It is a short ride from High Street Kensington to Notting Hill. Before we got to the main street, we passed a few other historical and interesting sites. The first was George Orwell's house. These blue plaques are placed on historic places.

This is where Jimi Hendrix lived for some time. Claudia said she had a whole music tour that she does for EF. I was a little jealous, I love music.

    This store is familiar to Paddington Bear fans. It is a  Notting Hill institution. Alice's was established in 1887. It contains an interesting array of various antiques and curios.

    There are two shops that were used in the movie Notting Hill, one for the outside, one for the inside. This one was a tourist trap, but the other one, while objectively still touristy, was a functional bookstore. 

    It was packed solid and had mostly best sellers. I was hoping to get a book on Jane Austen's letters, since we are reading them this year, and I don't have a copy. Unfortunately, they did not have one. Nor do I think it is something they would stock. I did purchase a pin of the store, though.

Part of Notting Hill is Portobello Road. I did sing a few bars while perusing the shops.

I had to get a pic at a book seller to commemorate it.

    Can you guess how delighted I am to be there? Lizzy and Ren decided on asian food for lunch, and they found this cute restaurant. It was not open yet, so the kids sat to wait. Shela and I wanted to be more adventurous so we found a street seller with falafel. 

    The market is impressive; they sell everything. I found a Spainish store and bought some Almond Turron and colorante to bring home. Lizzy found a watch she loved. This spice shop, shown behind Shelia, was founded in 1995 by German native Birgit Erath, who began selling spices from a cart on Portobello Road in 1990. She still blends her own spice mixes. You begin smelling the fragrant aroma a few feet away. I actually couldn't go inside as the smells were so overpowering. It was cool though.

    This seller was hilarious; we bantered over having his picture taken. He said he'd charge me 2 pounds, and the seller next door said that was too cheap, 5 pounds at least. He did insist on making us fresh falafel. Sheila had never had falafel before, and she enjoyed it, so that was nice. I love falafel; it was delicious. It came wrapped up with pickled vegetables and hummus.

    After lunch, we had a bus tour of London. We drove by the famous pub that Winston Churchill's grandparents frequented. It was built in 1750, and is known for serving ales and authentic Thai cuisine of all things! They spend an average of £25,000 every year on flowers. The pub's collection of plants started as a couple of hanging baskets and has bloomed into 100 tubs, 42 baskets, and over 48 window boxes covering the entire building, and even up to the chimney pots!

I love the cathedrals.

    Our next stop was Hyde Park. This area is now fondly referred to as the Albertopolis, named after Prince Albert, who suggested the purchase and development of the land soon after the Great Exhibition of 1851, using its profits. It consists of the Natural History Museum, V&A, Science Museum, and Imperial College.   

    The Royal Albert Hall has a long and impressive history. They do several award shows, including the Proms and Baftas, as well as concerts and various other events. It resides across the street from the monument that commemorates the Great Exhibition and Prince Albert's role in it. Officially called the Prince Consort National Memorial. The memorial shows Prince Albert holding the catalogue of the Great Exhibition.

Next stop was Buckingham Palace.

The king was in residence, as seen by the flags. We all turned and waved, "Hi Charles!"

we were waylaid by traffic and so unable to see the changing of the guards, but we did get to see their band practice. They were very impressive.

    Because of the unusual traffic, we didn't get to see Westminster Abby or Parliament other than a drive by, but as I was in need of some facilities, I did get to use the restroom near the Abby and so got this shot as we hurried by. It is undergoing some restoration at the moment.

This was our first glimpse of Big Ben.

    Our next stop was the rooftop terrace at One New Change shopping center to get this amazing view of St Paul's Cathedral and the London Skyline.

We had to cram into this elevator in 2 shifts to get us all up and down again.

    When we got down again, we said goodbye to our tour guide and bus driver. They were both great, but the tour guide was hilarious. He had a tour in the morning for a different group from Minnesota, so he joked about the differences. He had actually been to Kansas City and was quite knowledgeable about it.

Then off to the tube to Bond Street for dinner.

    Lizzy was a pro by this time. I should mention that by this time, I had managed to bruise my left heel, so walking was difficult. I had bought these orthopedic shoes last year and had been wearing them regularly, and had had no complaints. I'm not sure if it was the shoes or something else, but it was causing me quite a bit of trouble. In the morning, it took a bit of hobbling before I could walk normally, but I had the time to do that. As long as I kept a steady pace, it was more of a dull ache than sharp pain. As we were walking most of the days, it was a concern, and I stayed with the other "Cripples." Junette and her Mom both had knee and back problems and had to go slower. We really couldn't leg it anywhere. 

    We dined at Busaba's. We had rice and beef bowls. Most of the kids didn't like it, but they did like the coconut ice cream! London was having a heat wave during our visit, and the cold ice cream made us all smile.

 I did mess up a bit. Pat was at my table, and we were asked what we were doing for the evening. We said that we were going to Starlight, and the others asked what that was. For a bunch of theater kids and adults, I was constantly surprised at how minimal their knowledge of classic theater was. Anyway, I started describing the show, not thinking about Pat being there listening in, and he mentioned how he didn't know anything, and his Mom wanted that. I was all, "oops!" Luckily, Starlight is nearly impossible to describe. You really do need to experience it.

    On our way back to the tube station, we passed Selfridge. This department store was a game-changer in the way people shopped. From The London Museum website: "Selfridge moved to London in 1906, but found the city’s department stores lacked the dazzling drama of their American rivals. Many had stuck to their traditional Victorian ways and retailed to a specific clientele. Other than Harrods, which had recently been rebuilt into a vast shopper’s paradise, these West End stores didn’t offer much more than the items they sold. Selfridge had bigger ideas. Selfridge found a site on Oxford Street and, in 1909, opened a new kind of department store. On opening day, 90,000 people visited the store. Over the first week, visitor numbers topped one million.

    It had eight floors, five of those housing over 100 retail departments. And Mr Selfridge himself was part of the show. Each morning he arrived at the store at 8.30am wearing a morning jacket, pearl tie pin and orchid buttonhole. The store opened with the motto “everyone is welcome”. Traditional Oxford Street stores mostly served a middle class clientele. But here, social divisions were blurred as the wealthy and the working class browsed side by side. Selfridges had a particularly popular ‘bargain basement’, which it claimed was “easier to enter… than to leave”. It also offered shoppers leisure and socialising experiences, including a restaurant, rest areas, an American-style soda fountain and a library. It was “a city epitomised”, according to the Daily News."

    At this point, we all separated. A huge group went to see Hercules, some went shopping, some went back to the hotel, Lizzy, Pat, and I followed Varlery's lead and headed to Starlight.

It did not disappoint.

    As you can see, the stage was set up with levels and ramps. The actors rollerskated up and down these and raced through the audience as well. The two refs had scooters, and they did amazing flips. There was fire, smoke, and strobe lights. It really is a visual feast. It first opened in London in 1984 and ran for 17 years. It was revived last year and has the distinction of being the 9th-longest-running show in London. It has changed a few times, and one of those changes was a new character: Hydrogen. He stole the show, and Valery couldn't remember him from her previous viewing. That's how we found out about the changes. 

    It was spectacular, and both Pat and Lizzy loved it. I was so glad, as this was their first taste of a grand show. It really was the best way to get them excited for the shows we were going to see later. We got on the tube at the Baker Street station, so of course I had to take a picture. We did get a surprise as our Oyster cards didn't work. We ended up having to pay to get back. When I asked Claudia about it, it turned out we had gone outside the limits of our card. They only paid for central London, and we went beyond that. I found out later that the stairs we walked on were a famous place for Swifties; I guess Taylor Swift did something there. I was told I should have taken a picture, but I had no idea.

It was a long, but amazing day.

London Day One

     Last year, Lizzy and I sat in her high school choir room on the risers, listening with growing excitement about a forthcoming London trip focusing on theater enrichment. As Mrs Oakenhurst relayed what we would likely experience, my eyes and smile grew ever bigger. She later told Lizzy that she loved watching me get more and more excited during the meeting. As you can imagine, I fairly floated home with such a coveted prize so close. I quickly extoled all the virtues of just such a venture with my rather prozaic husband, who readily agreed that it sounded just my sort of thing, but was quite right in underscoring the effect such a venture would have on our finances. I was justly deflated, but understood, of course. 

    He said he would rather just send me, but I was insistent that Lizzy should go. For her part, she was intrigued, but had not the understanding as myself, of what a truly amazing gift was being offered. Nevertheless, she was excited for the possibility. In discussing the alternatives, she dutifully agreed to find gainful employment to pay back her portion. And so it was decided. I was ecstatic!

    Each month brought more information, slowly fleshing out what our adventure would be like. As with any adventure, there were many hiccups and multiple changes, but we were fed tidbits, like choosing what shows we would like to see and what sites we would like to visit. As this was a theater-based trip, we were to see 3 West End shows and 3 workshops, one such workshop would be at the Globe Theater itself! Also, we were going to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon as add-ons. But first, to get there!

    Daniel was kind enough to drop us off at the airport on Tuesday, July 7, at 8:30 AM. We said our goodbyes and then located the first of our group. While waiting, I chatted with a gentleman who was traveling that evening at 5pm, but came early. He said this was always his custom to wait the day in the airport. I felt it was excessive, but to each their own. 

    Our group consisted of 36 members of varying ages, and many had graduated. We had one family consisting of parents, a 12-year-old girl, and a 9-year-old boy. He was our youngest member. Several were adults. Only 17 were still in school. We were a motly crew.

    We got through security fairly easily, but this would prove to be a fluke. Our flight was supposed to board at 11:30, so we wondered a bit, but mostly waited until seating opened up in our section. 

    Ren, the one in the mask, was the only person Lizzy knew, but we were soon acquainted with Rowan, who attends Blue Spring South High School, and happened to be their other roommate. They all seemed to get on well.

    After what seemed like hours, we finally took off! I was seated next to Lizzy on most of the flights, which was nice. Some of the parents did not get that consideration.

    We landed in Denver as a storm was brewing, and Lizzy was stopped in security; it turns out her deodorant was the culprit. Apparently, Old Spice Sport will get you the entirely wrong sort of attention at some places! Instead of a 3-hour layover, it was stretched into 7 hours. To wile away the hours, Mrs. O had a photo contest. This was my submission:

This was Lizzy's:

    If you look closely, you can just see Rowen in the background. She doesn't like getting photographed. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Italian restaurant with Shela (Ren's Mom) and Kinley, another student from South, who was often flitting between groups until she settled with one she liked. 

I had the Caprese sandwich, and it was delightful.

    Lizzy decided to share food with Rowen, who doesn't eat much, but made a spectacle of herself by quickly finishing her half and loudly sighing in Rowan's direction while eyeing the salad. She began to relate to our companions how much food she can pack away. Rather than being mortified by this admission, I let our guests take it as a warning. She finished the salad, helped herself to my fries, and even ate a bit of Ren's pizza. 

    When we got on the plane, it was quite late, after 11PM. We tried to sleep, Lizzy was able to, but I couldn't do more than doze. They did serve us dinner and breakfast. So that was nice. 

    We arrived at Heathrow in the afternoon; there was another EF tour there as well. We ran into a few of them during our trip. We went through customs and found our tour guide, Claudia. She is Italian, but has been living in London for the passed 12 years and is a fashion designer as well as the occasional EF tour director, among other things. She reminded me of the Bard's quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream, "though she be but little, she is fierce." We loaded up a bus and had our first glimpse of England.

 

    Our original itinerary had us arriving in the morning, but since we arrived in the afternoon, we were able to check into the hotel (we were staying at the Copthorne Tara) and freshen up a bit. My roommate was Valery. She's a former Air Force pilot who now flies drones to help airports with maintenance. She flies a lot still, just as a passenger. She was a great roommate. Our Hotel was a short walk through the High Street Kensington Arcade to get to the underground subway. We rode the tubes nearly every day, so it was important to remember our stop!

    

    We headed to Carnaby for dinner at Mother Mash. Carnaby was lovely, but we didn't get a lot of time to view it as we went to the wrong restaurant and had to "leg it" to the right one across the way, about a ten-minute walk, but we were already running late due to the mixup. It was nearly a run as we tried to trail behind Claudia and navigate the narrow streets.

    We made it with enough time to eat and run, as they had another group coming in ten minutes and the place was quite small.

    I ate with Claudia, and we were served a lovely pie on mash with gravy. It was piping hot so I had to let it cool a bit while feeling anxious to leave a soon as possible. They had the toilets down this tiny staircase. It was a bit of an adventure.

    After dinner, we were released to look around for a bit. This area was called Covent Garden. We found an American store, it turned out it be a chain, but the store was funny. I love to see what other countries think constitutes "American." They had several things I had never heard of.

Obligatory telephone booth photo!

    There were a few street performers in the square which had Punch and Judy painted on the balcony. I explained who they were to Lizzy and her friends. 

Ren loves pigeons, and surprisingly, there are none in Missouri. She kept trying to catch one.

   Then it was time to head back to the tube and hotel. Our room had outlets only on one wall, so I had to move the bed for my CPAP machine, but after a little finagling, we settled in for the night. I made the mistake of not changing my cell phone for international, so unfortunately, I only had wifi at the hotel, which led to a few late nights for me. At the last minute, Claudia changed our morning gathering time to 9:15 so we had a little more time to rest.