Hi there! Sorry for the radio silence. The last week has been an absolute whirlwind! My last full day in London was wonderful – even with the on-again-off-again rain showers. It wouldn’t be a true UK experience without a few sprinkles. I started my day with breakfast at darling cafe around the corner. I ordered eggs Benedict and an Americano coffee. The hollandaise sauce wasn’t as buttery or creamy as what I’m used to in the U.S., but it was still delicious!
Then I took the Tube over to the Picadilly Circus area where I wandered around for a bit. I spent some time dodging rain by darting in and out of stores. There were so many shops! I decided last minute that I wanted to see a musical so I grabbed a list from a ticket stand. WHAT A LIST. Minneapolis usually has 1-2 musicals at a time… here in London the options were endless. I felt spoiled rotten! I wanted to see everything, obviously, but I could only choose one. 🙂
I decided to catch the matinee showing of “CHICAGO: The Musical” and boy was I impressed. I read that Cuba Gooding Jr. was starring in it, but that wasn’t the case for my show. That’s totally okay! I was still absolutely blown away. They had a live jazz band that was absolutely incredible. I would have paid good money just to see them play! The costumes were mesmerizing and the choreography was electric. Also the voices of the actors and actresses was unbelievable – they were so talented! I loved all the harmonies. Since I bought a solo ticket just 30 minutes before the curtains closed, I was in the 10th row at center stage. Couldn’t ask for better seats.
WHAT A GREAT SHOW!!! I’m not normally the spontaneous type, especially when it comes to spending money, but I’m so happy I treated myself.
On that day I got a kick out of walking around Hamley’s Toy Shop. This place was a kid’s dream! I loved seeing all of the happy kids and all of their smiling faces. This toy store would put even the grouchiest person in a good mood. Of course I had to browse the Disney, board game and the Barbie sections – I’m still a kid at heart, after all. There really is something for everyone here. This four-floor store had giant displays of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Barbie, Legos and so on. I didn’t spend a ton of time there but I’m glad I stopped in. People always say that kids these days don’t even play with toys – RIP Toys R Us – but I can tell you that kids DO love toys. At least they did at this store!
For dinner I stopped into a French restaurant near my hostel. It was delicious! Why not gear up for my 10 weeks in France, right?! I ordered a glass of wine, a salmon appetizer and some French fries. A pretty random meal but I liked it. I didn’t want anything too heavy or rich so this was perfect for me. Okay, I know fries can be rich but I was craving them so bad! I don’t remember what the cheese/dip was in the center of the salmon but I hope we meet again someday. I remember it had dill but I’m not sure what else.
Then that night I packed up my bags and stayed up all night (not kidding) to catch my flight to Greece. So that’s a wrap! I’m going to do a separate post about my hostel later so stay tuned for that.
Thanks for reading!
Castles and Champagne 