Today was a day for clearing out junk, sleeping in and visiting the post office. I sent three packages home, almost six kilos. I’m very happy not to have it all in my pack but posting things is stressful – did I fill in the forms right? Did I send enough stuff home? How long is the line? I didn’t take any photos of that so you just have to imagine Luke being very calm and kind to me to get me through the experience.
The big event of the day was going into Soho for The Mousetrap, the world’s longest running play at 70 years.
I’ve read Agatha Christie novels and seen mystery plays but it did exceed my (admittedly low) expectations.
For a final excursion together it was ideal. A perfect way to end an arts-filled week. An iconic and perfectly-produced performance!
Tomorrow: London to Zurich!
Goodbye Mornington Crescent, such a convenient, quiet station!
We’re finishing off the evening by finishing off our leftover food and listening to Dolly Parton’s greatest hits.
Today was Lea and Pete’s theatre marathon – both parts of The Cursed Child in one day. Luke and I returned to Kings Cross to see if we could get into Dishoom for breakfast.
Success!
No wait this time and we had a lovely waitress who told us she was very hungover. The restaurant is certainly the most upmarket decor I’ve ever seen in an Indian restaurant. It manages to capture a very historical feel while also being opulent and fashionable. The menu had Indian takes on western breakfast items as well as more traditional fare.
I had an omelette with coriander and spices, Luke had the egg and bacon naan with chilli jam.
I know photos of food aren’t all that interesting but I want to remember these dishes so I can add some of these ideas to my own cooking when I get home.
After that we parted ways. Luke went to have lunch with a former work colleague who is now working in London.
Luke and his friend Mark. Apparently the film they were working on did some filming in Regent Street.
I had thought to go to the gallery but I wanted a better-fitting pair of leggings from Primark so I thought I’d do that on the way. Oxford Street was heaving with people and when I got into Primark the line was about 50 people long.
I tried Next next, where there were far fewer people and they had a cafe with a toilet in their two storey shop, which I needed to use. I tried on leggings and some jeans and ended up buying the jeans (this really isn’t my most interesting post ever, is it?) and bought a drink at the cafe, only to find the toilet was not working.
This is the third time in two days I’ve been into a business where the toilet was unavailable and I don’t think I’ve ever once seen this at home. It feels like people put the sign up just to avoid having people use their bathroom… I’d be fascinated to know if it’s patrons making a mess, a lack of staff to clean the facilities, actual broken plumbing or what.
Anyhow, after getting changed and whatnot on a day that felt quite warm (it was 19 but my body has adjusted to the cooler weather) I was feeling a bit annoyed and decided to have a quiet afternoon.
Luke met me at the Prince Arthur for a drink then we came back to the apartment and just lay around. Somehow I still managed to walk over 10km, every day has been between 10 and 15, which is pretty good. I’m glad I’m keeping up the distances even though the hiking part of the holiday is done. we’ve both noticed our feet get more sore on the hard concrete but I do prefer walking to catching the tube, you get to see more and get better orientated.
We had a late dinner (8:30! This holiday is changing all my habits and routines) at Frida, which is right next door to the Greek place we are at last night. They do Mexican and it was very nice, and even nicer when a table of 20-something British and American girls left halfway through – they’d been shouting their conversation to each other despite being in a tiny restaurant. The relief in the room was palpable.
The main excitement of the meal was watching a bus driver get out of his bus and shout at the driver of a black van right outside the restaurant window. Earlier a fight had almost started at a bar just down from our flat.. I don’t know what was in the air last night but it was very rowdy for London!
Lea and Pete got back around 10 and said they really enjoyed the show. Luke had booked them a table for dinner at an Italian restaurant very close to the theatre and it ended up being a great idea because apparently there were hoards of people trying to find dinner in the theatre district.
Portobello Road Markets tomorrow, something I’d not seen in any of my previous visits but Lea and Pete have been before so they get it be tour guides tomorrow!
To finish here’s a photo for Mum. She’ll know why.
We eschewed our usual breakfast at home for an early wander up the road to Camden Markets. So early that half the shops weren’t open but we found coffee and sat for a little while.
Camden high street. Cyberdog, sadly not open.
I bought a bead necklace (blue of course) and a hand-painted tile for the kitchen wall.
I had a delicious bowl of salad for brunch. Luke got a Shake Shack burger. I really feel like there haven’t been enough salads and vegetables in my diet lately. I’m getting to that point in the trip where I miss my own kitchen.
After a couple of hours at the markets we went back to the apartment to get ready for…. Hamilton!
We got to Victoria Station early and had time for a drink in a roof top bar. Everyone else decided to play it safe and not have a drink before the show but I had a glass of wine.
The sun came out for a little while but the day was quite cold. In the city every alleyway is a wind tunnel but the underground is always boiling hot. It’s very annoying!
The building looks big but inside it wasn’t huge which meant that, even though we had seats fairly far back, we could see pretty well.
Theatre foyer.Luckily the family in front weren’t too tall.
The songs were catchy and the singing was great. I enjoyed it but I still can’t say I’m a fan of musicals in general. My favourite song was Washington’s first song and my least favourite was his final song, which felt like a waste of time. A controversial opinion, no doubt!
After the show we walked past Buckingham Palace. It really is a very boring building.
I like the shiny gold thing over the road better.
Then we walked to Soho via Pall Mall (Paul maul or Pal mal??) and then caught the tube to King’s Cross. No less than three independent sources had recommended we try Dishoom, a chain of Indian restaurants. there’s one in Kings Cross. We headed there only to find there was a 1.5 hour queue. They don’t take bookings so we decided to try again another day.
Instead we walked to our suburb and chose a little Greek restaurant that did lovely food. All very simple but tasty.
We got home around 8:30 and spent a couple of hours eating cheese and planning the future days in a bit more detail.
I sent Bonnie a postcard a couple of weeks ago, I don’t think she was very excited.. is this a yawn?
Here Comes The Planet 