New Places New People

Monday: Slept in...went to British Museum and took a guided tour...lost the tour group but found them again (me: busy taking photos)....went to Starbucks where I met a very interesting woman (Ph.D from Boston) and we ended up talking for a couple of hours...back to hotel...shower...change of clothes...tube to Victoria to see Elton John's 'Billy Elliot' musical..met some people from Chicago...had a glass of wine during intermission which I had preordered and there it was waiting for me with my #3 receipt !!!(they let you bring it back to your seat if you pour it in a plastic cup)...phone call from the USA at midnight....tired...slept....

Funny observation: Bundled trash on the street left for garbage pick up but apparently on the wrong day...garbage collection people have yellow tape (like the police 'do not cross' type) that says 'wrong date for your trash.  Your date is ___'.  This tape was neatly wrapped around the trash bundles and was just sitting on the street waiting patiently for the right day!

Interesting to me: How easy it is to meet people when you are traveling alone.  I now have addresses and names of two people in two days who were both really interesting...

Tuesday: taking it easy today.  Will walk to the Sainsbury Starbucks and read the paper.  Getting together with Lulu and Geoff for dinner...not sure what else I'll do...think a nice quiet day will be just fine.

Sunday in London

Made it to the half priced ticket booth in Leicester Square but found that there were only 3 plays to see (Stomp, Jump and the one I went to) --all matinees because it is SUNDAY.  I chose to go see Noel Coward's 'Brief Encounter' which turned out to be a perfect choice.  I am sure it will make it to Broadway and be up for a Tony in a few years....it is a mixture of movie (with people going in and out of the screen and movie into real life--hard to describe--you have to see it--amazingly clever)...also the actors go from their parts to playing in the band to singing...the actors served us food during the intermission. (cucumber sandwiches and as the woman from the play said "with the crusts removed")...it was really really amazing.  I sat next to Gerald from Houston who was a perfect person to sit next to (and he was cute and fun to talk with  to boot!)...he runs a Houston Theatre company and is going home tomorrow--he clued me in on what to see theatre-wise here as he's been here watching lots of them (he said Billy Elliot was great and that I must see Blood Brothers and that there are always 1/2 priced tickets for it...also recommended 39 steps as a really funny play).  We laughed all the way through this one...of course there was the romance to it too which was bittersweet and made me long for the old time mushy romance that I (probably all women) dream about.....a really wonderful production.

In between purchasing my tixs and the opening of the play/musical I made it to Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden.  Had a great cup of coffee in a Italian type bistro and after the theatre went for fish and chips...also had 'mushy peas' which I ordered just to see what it was...it was peas mushed up.  

Tomorrow I see Billy Elliot and continue my adventures here.

I'm in LONDON!!!

Im here!!! After going to San Francisco for The PayPal Mafia Party Thursday night (fabulous--but another story for another time) I got back to L.A. in time to transfer suitcases and go to LAX and take off for London.

I was lucky enough to get a whole row to myself in the back of the plane where I slept 9 hours straight, missing dinner and all the movies and TV that Virgin Atlantic has on their fights...they really do have a huge wonderful selection...maybe on the way home....

The hotel I found is soooo English.  I am loving it.  Very small room but  great decor and a very modern bathroom (quite nice)  and in a great neighborhood in Knightsbridge (or is it Knightsbury...it's late and I can't remember).  Anyway I am just a block away from a great Sainsbury's  (grocery) where I got some great Indian take out from the Deli along with some fruit, sodas (Ginger Beer which often hard to find in the U.S.), and local cheeses.  AND...there is a nice large Starbucks in it so I am happy, happy, happy.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to get some half price theatre tickets at Leiscester Square for tomorrow night and then go to either the Speakers Corner in Hyde Park (this is where people get up on their soapboxes-yes, literally...and spout off about any topic they feel like talking about...people can yell or shout back at them...this is going on with dozens or more speakers going at the same time in the same area of the park...hilarious) or the British Museum or the Victoria and Albert Museum.  

I have tickets for Elton John's Billy Elliot musical for Monday night and then Tuesday I have plans with friends, Lulu and Geoff...not sure what we're doing  yet...more later...