Singin' and Dancin' in London

Those of you who are also facebook friends are aware that over the Valentine's Day weekend I took another jaunt to London. This time it was to do something that had been tempting Becky and I since we were there for Christmas: seeing Singin' in the Rain on the West End! What comes below is a bit of a strange mix of a re-cap of the adventure as well as a re-cap of the food elements of this adventure...

Mind you, when we chose the date, I picked the weekend that The Muppets' new movie would be coming out and only later realized that it coincided with Vale

ntine's Day. Also, when I planned this trip, little did I know that I would still be recuperating from a cold while I was on it. Fortunately, despite the foggy-occasionally grumpy-tired-Janelle that Becky kindly put up with while on this trip; it was another glorious trip to London.

This time around I took the train. Fortunately before I left Aberdeen I'd discovered a drug similar to Nyquil and Dayquil. So, since my train out of Aberdeen was a Sleeper, I got on board, loaded up on the "Nyquil-alike" and slept (decently for being sick and on a train) on-and-off, all the way to London! When I awoke Friday morning, as the train approached the outskirts of London, there was snow covering the scenes passing the train windows! Snow on the ground, snow on the trees, snow on the cars! It was lovely! Once in London, though, I got to face something I'd yet to face: morning commute traffic on the underground while toting luggage! But I made it safe and sound, and after a few hours of hanging out in coffee shops in what I've started to think of as my neighborhood in London (Kensington) Becky arrived and we made our way to the hostel!

<-- This is it!

and this is the street we were on -->

Of course, first things first, after finding dinner we made our way to the cinema and saw the film we'd been waiting for since November when it came out in the States well, if I'm being honest, our whole lives! The Muppets were amazing, as were Amy Adams and Jason Segel and all of the fantastic music from Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords! We laughed, we cried, we got chills when Kermit said "Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the Muppet Show!" and the opening notes to the music for the Muppet Show started! And we loved seeing places we know and love from home even though we're thousands of miles away from Los Angeles. Of course, that night was amazing, and so was seeing the Muppets, but it was just a piece of the puzzle that made it a fantastic trip.

The next day was Saturday, so naturally we decided to re-visit Notting Hill and the Portobello Road Market! After searching the stalls and wandering in and out of the various little shops we made our way to a Costa Coffee to sit for a bit (still getting well meant I wasn't up for constantly moving). That evening we did something that felt so very much like being back at home in So.Cal. - actually a lot of this weekend in London could probably have been described that way, from seeing bits of home portrayed in the Muppet movie, to well, you'll see - we went to the BFI (British Film Institute) and got to see Casablanca on the big screen! Afterwards we enjoyed dinner at their restaurant inside the BFI Southbank complex and I felt that at any moment my brother and sister-in-law or Nate and Emily or Jeri or Laura and Brian or Mike, Ryan, and Kevin would come wandering around the corner to come join us; we might as well have been back at the Egyptian or Aero Theatres or the Arclight Hollywood. 

Sunday we returned to a fantastic little place we'd found the first time we were in London: Muriel's Kitchen and had a delicious breakfast, or brunch, rather based on the time we got up and ready. After brunch we wandered around some bookshops (of course) and then got back to the hostel in time to get ready for church. As we had visited the first time we were in London, we went back to HTB: Onslow Square. Being there was the closest thing to being back home at RHF as I've experienced since being across the pond. The message that night was the beginning of a series on relationships, and the truth that was being shared was definitely truth I needed to hear. The response time was so good and so Spirit led and filled. Becky and I went to GBK afterwards to eat dinner and unpack the sermon a bit more. As it has been along this whole journey, it was good to have someone to share these thoughts and experiences with; to dive into the hard stuff alongside of. We went back to the hostel feeling blessed, missing home, and ready for bed. 

On Monday we woke up knowing that that evening we were seeing show on the West End! And not just any show, but one of my favorite musicals of all time!! :-D For two such Broadway and Musical lovers, we couldn't wait! We decided to go visit some of the shopping districts in London (ones we'd avoided like the plague when we were there over Christmas) in hopes to find a fun addition or something for our outfits for that evening. Alas we left empty handed, but we got to have a very tasty dinner at Battersea Pie (seriously amazing pies!!) before we went back to the hostel to get all gussied up for the big night! Having wandered around so-called 'Theatre Land' before we knew basically where we were headed, and were greeted by this wonderful view when we arrived at the Palace Theatre:

(on either side it reads: "An Evening of Pure Joy" and "Wall-to-Wall Pleasure" and it most certainly delivered)

The show was beyond words. From the top/back of the stage where you could see the Hollywood Land sign to a few of the hand- and foot-prints on the walk-of-fame on the stage floor, to the actual water/rain that was sung/danced in (and also splashed at the audience members in the nearest seats!) it was absolutely brilliant! And for the Broadway Melody number there was a moment when it seemed that instead of Adam Cooper on that stage, playing Don Lockwood, it was actually Gene Kelly! Oh, it was fantastic!

Well, Tuesday morning came, and Becky left for the airport to fly back to Dublin, and I left for King's Cross to catch my train back to Aberdeen. I tried to go by way of Platform 9 3/4, but since it was February and not September it wasn't working. But there you have it, another mini-adventure that will forever be a big part of my memories from this grand adventure of a year.

Until next time, Allons-y!