London with Grace: Billy Elliot

Livin' the Dream

Billy Elliot was so amazing the first time that I saw it that Grace decided that she wanted to see it while in London and our neighbors were generous enough to buy us tickets. It was really a dream come true.

After napping we got ready in our hostel to hit the town that night. After getting ready we went to the general area of the theatre and found a restaurant which happened to be Italian. It was good food and we got in with plenty of time to get to the theatre.

Grace and I had tickets for the first row in the Grand Circle which were great seats, although sometimes the rail would get in the way. Also, here was a sign that was in the theatre:

I think it's pretty funny considering the whole show is about embracing dance but apparently Westminster doesn't want any of that happening  in their theatre. Another funny thing is that I've seen 3 different Billies after seeing the show only twice. That is because about halfway through this show one of the Billies went offstage and never came back. Instead the production manager came on stage and told us that he was unable to finish the show and a new Billy would take over. I had my concerns that this Billy would be subpar compared to the other one who I liked, but it was the opposite. This Billy was amazing! And you could tell that he was loving every minute on stage (you can always tell who is really having fun out there).

Here are some other points about the show:

• I had the same Michael and Mrs. Wilkinson (no complaints) but a different Dad and Debbie.
• I frequently shouted "Billy Elliot" during it because I loved it so much.
• Grace loved it too, so much so that she got a t-shirt that matches the one that I got in February.
• Grace and I waited outside the stage door and saw many of the little girls come out, as well as the actor who played the brother (which I thought did a great job!)

After a great show the two of us took the Tube to the hostel, talking about how fantastic it was all the way back.

London: Les Miserables

(Written the night of the show, May 21, 2010, from my hostel in London)

Tonight Gracie and I went to go fulfill another lifelong dream of mine: seeing Les Miserables in the West End and it did not disappoint.

We had a long day getting to London and doing some sightseeing, so before going to the three hour long show Grace and I snuck in a little nap. After resting we got all dolled up to go to the theatre, Grace wearing her cute little coral coloured dress and me in my black Ann Taylor dress. After all, going to the theatre is all about the experience and dressing up is part of that.

Another part of that is getting dinner beforehand. While walking over to Piccadilly Circus we saw a Thai restaurant that had a deal for a three course "Pre-Theatre" meal for 15 GBP so we stopped in there. The food was very good (amazing Pad Thai) and we got a lot of it too. I, of course, was very stressed* that we would not get to the show in time but my fears proved to be unfounded.

We got to the theatre and I squealed a lot, as I do when I get excited. When people asked me what I wanted to do when I went abroad I told them that the only thing that I had to do was see Les Miz in the West End and here I was standing in front of the Queen's Theatre with my ticket in hand.

A very excited me

Fulfilling dreams is fun!

We got in a took our seats in the upper circle, row J, which was not necessarily close to the action but also not a bad view. And the the show started.

• I loved the set and how it rotated around and the way that it was used. Very cool. I'm sure it would have been even cooler seeing it from more of a ground level. Being up so high we did see a couple of characters that should have been dead come back to life, drink some water, fix their hair, and then die again.
• "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was a tearjerker, as was Fantine's death scene and the ending.
• The actors had amazing voices (I would expect no less). The actors playing Eponine, Jean Valjean, and Enjolras were especially talented.
• Little Cosette was adorable!
• I thought I would cry a lot more. Maybe it was because I was already familiar with the story.

Afterwards we took a black cab home which just added to the phenominal London experience. Seriously, my life could not get any better when I was riding in a black cab coming home from Les Miserables in the West End wearing a cocktail dress with my little sister.

*Throughout the entire trip I was stressed but luckily I had Grace there to calm me down and remind me that sometimes you just need to take it easy.

London with Grace: Day 1 (21/5)

Welcome to London!

(I don't feel like I'm in London until I see Big Ben)

Here is the last couple hours in Dublin and our first couple hours in London with a few bullets:

1. Left Roebuck Hall for the last time at 4:45 am after packing and cleaning that night.
2. Took cab to airport.
3. Tried desperately to rearrange things in order to avoid fees.
4. The flight was scheduled to leave at 7:55 am but was delayed but we didn't care because as soon as we sat down in the plane we fell asleep.
5. Took train to Victoria Station and took black cab to hostel.
6. Nice hostel worker named David at the Walrus Waterloo Hostel (I would recommend it).
7. Went out to explore London!
8. First went past Westminster to Trafalgar Square, stopping for lunch.
9. Went to see Buckingham Palace and took some pictures of it. A nice lady offered to give us directions.
10. Walked over to Piccadilly Circus.
11. Grace bought a purse made of candy wrappers near Piccadilly Circus.
12. Bought Billy Elliot tickets for tomorrow night (35 GBP each) which was a generous gift from the Wittenberg family who are our neighbors.
13. Headed back to hostel for short nap and to get ready to see Les Miserables (and fulfill a dream of mine).