We arrived slightly late (over 15mins so could claim on delay/repay 😀), which wasn’t ideal but we set off wandering through about 4 different unis/colleges – UCL, RADA, Birkbeck and UoL – to arrive at the British Museum. I’d possibly misjudged this stopping point – Emily really wasn’t that interested in the most important chess set in the world, but it was really just a lunch stop as we only had 30mins to kill. I suggested we just wander round the west end, soaking up the atmosphere on route to the theatre. But arriving at the Shaftesbury Theatre to find the Live Aid musical playing was a little perplexing, and it appeared (ahem) that Hadestown was actually on at the Lyric Theatre. Who’d have thought it? Anyway a slightly sped up walk through Chinatown ensued as the rain appeared and we arrived having been past at least 25 other theatres and cinemas. Phew.
Hadestown was amazing. Highly recommended and Emily loved it. So then it was another quick frog march to a pizza place (Rudy’s on Tottenham Court Road – great value) and a quick bite before zooming across town for the 7.30pm showing of The Hunger Games at the Troubadour Theatre in Canary Wharf. Probably not quite as good as Hadestown but something quite different nonetheless and we enjoyed the show before a short trek away from the skyscrapers to the Travelodge with an amazing view and crashing in bed just before midnight.
Next day was another epic – another Daddy fail on tapping on/off on the DLR (thanks TfL staff for being understanding of us out-of-towners), before arriving at Kings Cross for a diversion to see Platform 9¾. Thanks again to staff for pointing it out with barely a snigger, when I stood a bit lost between Platforms 9 and 10, failing to see the queues of people lining up for the Potter attraction. We then strode for an amazing brunch at Alma, just on the edge of Coal Drops Yard – highly recommended. And then we spent a few cool hours browsing around Coal Drops Yard and marvelling at things we weren’t really ever going to buy. Time for one final stop? The British Libray – a bookworms dream. Although Emily was far more excited about the unusual editions of her favourite books in the bookshop, than the original Beethoven scores or first compilation of Shakespeare. Ho hum. She was happy.
And then boom, long train ride back and we arrived to find Glasgow somewhat more parochial than we left it. London definitely impresses me these days – it feels at least 5 years in the future – and everything just seems to work so well. Quite the adventure.
Happy Christmas Emily x
All aboard!
The British Museum
Definitely the right theatre!
Intimate staging
Canary Wharf
The intereactive setting for the Hunger Games
Best Travelodge view ever
Amazing brunch at Alma
The supercar that never moves
The British Library
Fun times!
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