IMAX
On our last day in London it rained all day. Far from being disappointed, I thought, “This is more like London.” We were all grateful that we had nowhere specific to be that morning, so over a late breakfast we brainstormed options for the day. Despite being used to rain, and having packed the necessary clothes, we were looking for indoor activities. I was hoping to see Westminster, as it was the last item on my London bucket list. My travel companions, however, after all the walking and sightseeing we had done that week seemed to have tired of sightseeing and battling tourist crowds. In truth, we were all looking forward to escaping the crowds of London for the slower, less crowded coastal countryside for the next week. I think I could have gotten used to London, with so much to do and see and the hustle and bustle, I found it exhausting but exhilarating at the same time.
Anyway, we ended up agreeing on an IMAX showing of a documentary. There was an IMAX theater only a few blocks from our flat so that meant little walking and no fighting crowds in order to see. It also happened to be the biggest IMAX screen in Europe. Micah was determined to have an IMAX experience, so not caring what we saw, we chose the next showing, a documentary about Lemurs of Madagascar, narrated by Morgan Freeman. The documentary discussed the problem of deforestation on Madagascar, which means the Lemurs are rapidly loosing their habitats. The scientists are trying to educate the locals in better farming practices, because the farmers burn fields, but the fires often get out of hand and burn the forests. The film was 3D, and I had no problem sitting for an hour listening to Morgan Freeman’s voice while watching cute little lemurs.
After the film we returned to the Greensmiths grocer (which I mentioned in an earlier post) because Micah wanted to try the 45 day aged beef which he had practically drooled over during our last visit to the store. While buying the beef and potatoes for dinner, we picked up lunch fixing and returned to the flat. Over lunch we debated which play we wanted to attempt to get tickets for that evening. I lobbied for Wicked because I have wanted to see it for quite a while. I knew all the music, but didn’t actually know the plot. Our Airbnb host had suggested that we might be able to get reasonably priced last minute tickets at the box office rather than the half price ticket booth. So after lunch we caught a bus to the Wicked box office, where we were able to acquire full-view seats together in the balcony for only 45 pounds each! I was SO excited!
Harrods Department Store
With tickets in hand, and a few hours to spare before needing to return to the flat for our steak dinner before the theater, my Mom suggested we visit a department store. We hadn’t done much shopping this trip, so we hopped on a bus to Harrods. I had never seen any department store like this one before! The crowds were endless, and the place seemed to just keep going and going. We entered near an entrance to the food rooms. There was a vast, brightly-lit room for each type of food! We got some meat (Hungarian salami, and Spanish ham) for the next day’s train sandwiches, and then 3 large slices of delicious looking cake (chocolate, red velvet, and battenburg) for the next day’s breakfast. By the time we finished with the food courts, we had just enough time to gawk at some of the lower floor men’s departments, and upper floor women’s departments, before returning to the flat. For practicality sake, I bought a small bottle of nail polish because my nails had started splitting as soon as we arrived in London and I needed some deterrent to stop picking at them, which only made them look worse. (If anybody has had this happen to them or knows why it happens, I’d love to be enlightened.)
Wicked
Laden with cake, we returned to our flat where Micah made us a spectacularly delicious garlic steak and baked potatoes dinner. It was so nice to have a home cooked meal! After dinner we once again caught a bus to the Wicked theater. Since it was raining we had decided not to dress in our nicer clothes, turns out the theater was full of tourists who were also not dressed up so we fit right in. Finally, we were seated in the balcony with a full view of the stage! As the lights lowered, the curtain rose, and the music started I thrilled with excitement. Only seconds later, late audience members show up and stood in our way for a good 5 minutes while trying to figure out their seats and ushers trying to direct them threw the light of their flash lights all over the place. So I still have no idea what the first five minutes of the play were like, but I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of it!
I sang all the way back to the flat, concluding a very busy, but wonderful week in London!
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