London Calling

Yesterday, I went on a marvelous day trip to London with my dear friend E. London is just a hop,skip and a jump away from Steeple Bumpstead where I've been spending the past three glorious weeks basking in the cloudy English countryside getting my fill of fish and chips, beans on toast and an occasional cuppa tea. We went into the city pretty inexpensively on a train that took about an hour to get to the heart of London.

The first time that I was in London in the fall, we only had a quick afternoon to rush around and see the sights. This time around, E and I bumbled around  visiting Liz at Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and seeing the dinosaurs at the Natual History Museum. Luckily for us, the sun decided to make an appearance and graced us with its presence for the better part of the afternoon. 

To end our day out in London, we met up with one of my roommates from France, A and grabbed some supper with her and her travel buddy and then completed one of my lifelong dreams of seek Wicked onstage. We had bought 15 pound tickets which were literallythe farthest away that one could possbly be in the theater and then experienced a free 18 row ticket upgrade which was fantastic! It was such a neat show with so many turns and surprises even though I had read the book and knew the music by heart. I teared up several times, laughed my head off and caught myself gazing in wonder at all of the talent (and all of he shiny lights!!). It was magical.

Seeing all of the iconic bits of London that I've only read about or saw on tv was an odd experience. It was as though all of these places were just a 3D version of a very realistic painting or illustration. I feel extremely lucky that I got a chance to see it with my own eyes! I know that I will be back again someday to discover more of the treasures that London has tucked away.