Dinner and a Show

J and I decided to do up this Saturday big since I face-planted on the couch last weekend from being as sick as a dog, and I had a lot of fun to make up.

First order of business was catching a matinee showing of the musical Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden. It's based on one of my favorite childhood novels by Roald Dahl, who's pretty much the best children's writer of all time, and it got excellent reviews so I was pretty excited.

As always, we arrived way too early, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise since J was able to snag a beer and I grabbed two large bags of sweet treats - one sour and one sweet cause a girl needs variety. =)

In any case, the theatre's smack dab in the middle of the seven dials, which is the intersection of seven shopping streets and the world's tiniest roundabout. The theatre is a bit tired looking, but the place was filled with schoolyard decorations such as chalkboards with rude sayings scrawled on them.

We weren't seated for too long when I noticed that a gentleman a few rows ahead of us looked an awful lot like Paul McCartney of the Beatles. I also couldn't help noticing that the lady next to him looked just like Paul McCartney's new wife. I couldn't stop staring because they looked so much like them that they had to be them, but it was still too improbable for it to be happening. I mean, what are the chances that I would be catching a Saturday matinee showing of Matilda with a Beatle?

And it finally dawned on me, HOLY SHIT, IT'S PAUL MCCARTNEY. I'm from LA, and it's not unusual to spot celebrities in random places. I've seen Jack Nicholson opening doors for confused shoppers at Nordstrom, and Dog the Bounty Hunter sauntering through the Grove with his wife in tow. But this wasn't any celebrity sighting - this was THE celebrity sighting. I love love love the Beatles. I grew up loving them since I was in the fourth grade, and they were so amazing that I could never grasp that these were real live talking and walking people who existed in the same world as me.

Anyway, I managed to pull my eyes away from him long enough to enjoy the musical. It was a wonderful show, but the best bit was Miss Trunchbull, the terrifying headmistress of the school. It's a very masculine woman's role, but it was played to perfection by a man who flounced and pranced better than I ever could. I really couldn't imagine anyone playing that role any better - he completely stole the show.

The two hours or so sped by, and pretty soon we were on our way out when I noticed that Paul McCartney was walking down the stairs right in front of me. I was so close that I could've reached out and ruffled his very thick head of hair. My arm started to reach out, as if it had a mind of its own, when J grabbed me and told me he had to visit the men's room. Foiled and thwarted!

As disappointed as I was that I didn't manage to grab Paul McCartney and get tackled by his security team, I managed not to cry. J tried to console me with a good wander through Covent Garden, and I was sufficiently recovered by the time we met our friends at Christopher's for dinner.

Christopher's is a neo-American restaurant close to the Strand, and the four of us spent a good three hours eating and chatting. It was good times, and the food was excellent but with one big caveat. The boys ordered from the a la carte menu, while us girls ordered off the pre/post theatre menu, and the food ordered from the a la carte menu was vastly superior. Other than that, the service was excellent, and the setting was like a proper American steakhouse without being stuffy. And we each got a chocolate truffle after our dessert. Definitely worth a trip or two back.

A Tourist in London

Yesterday was the first day we tagged along with my little bro and his gf on their travels around London in their attempt to see pretty much everything.

The first place we visited was the British Museum, which currently has a Australian landscape set in its front court. The kids especially enjoyed the Asian exhibit, and J and I hadn't seen it either so it was new for all of us.



We took a quick taxi ride to the National Gallery with a very amusing driver. He asked where we were from and I explained to him that we lived in London and our guests were visiting us from LA. He then informed me that he watched Real Housewives of Orange County and Jersey Shore quite regularly. We all groaned in unison, and we had a good chuckle over our American reality TV embarrassments. But I had a chance to tease him in turn for The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea and Geordie Shore - trust me, you don't want to know. It's true what they say about London taxi drivers - they're the best in the world.

I was amazed when we arrived at Trafalgar Square - it was packed! I had never seen the square so full of people, and we quickly beat a hasty retreat into the National Gallery where we wandered about for an hour.


Our next destination was Covent Garden, where we caught a quick street performance and wandered in the Apple Market for a while.


We then headed to Jamie's Italian for a quick dinner. The food was great and well priced - you haven't had pasta until you've had homemade pasta! We had a selection of desserts - walnut and espresso tart, tiramisu and a chocolate brownie. The tiramisu beat all, hands down. I'm proud to say that I picked it. =)

Full of delicious food, we then took another taxi to the Lyceum Theatre for an evening showing of The Lion King. The theatre was absolutely beautiful and the seats very comfortable, and I had heard excellent word-of-mouth about the show so we were quite excited. The production was absolutely amazing, probably the best I had ever seen, but the singing was a bit sub-par. Although the singing was a bit disappointing, the production and some of the actors were fantastic enough to make up for it.

We were pretty tired by the end of the night, and we headed home. I'd forgotten how exhausting it can be to be a tourist in London. All of the museums have so much to look at, and navigating London streets can get a bit confusing. I was really really glad to see my front door that night.

Korean Food, Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, My Oh My

We had our first tube debacle today! I suppose it's somewhat of a minor miracle we haven't had one thus far considering we're out in the sticks (for London, anyway), and we only have two lines that go where we usually want to go, which is somewhere in the West End. The good news is, I now have faith that I can figure out a route to get where I need to go even if all the lines are shut down at some part or another. As for J, well, he just better stick close to me... But we made it in a piece to Soho, which is known for three things: (1) Chinatown, (2) Porn, and (3) Gay capital of London. Which is why I find it so confusing that J's friend Tom recommended that J go there immediately. Unless he knows something about J that I don't...

Asian people! Eating sushi! Okay, calm down and approach them quietly...  Oh, forget it, take me to your bosom my people! Embrace me as one of your own! Photo by Patrick Scales.

After spending an hour trying to get to Soho when it really should've only taken half that time, we finally ended up at Arang, a Korean restaurant that got pretty good reviews. We ordered a couple different things to test drive the place out, and we were pleasantly surprised. We got the lunch specials for bibimbap, daeji bulgogi, and kimchi chigae. The kimchi was actually pretty good and had had time to ferment properly, but the kicker is: they charge 2 pounds for kimchi! Arghhh! Luckily for us, it came with our lunch specials, but still... that just ain't right. The LA ktown ahjumas would be rolling in their graves if they ever found out. Anyway, this place should do in a pinch, but we're still going to try out a couple more places before settling on a favorite.

Oh fermented cabbage, where have you been all my life? Photo by Jess Lander.

After bloating ourselves with all the sodium and MSG filled goodness that was lunch, we decided to take a walk to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Trafalgar Square is possibly the most famous square in the whole world, and it's easy to see why. The National Gallery is the backdrop, and there are two large fountains with a phallic monument in the center with a Napoleon look-alike perched on top. "Napoleon" is surrounded by four large lions with their tongues lolling out, and there are some pretty random things laying about such as a large ship in a bottle.

It's a man. It's a dolphin. No, it's mighty Fountain Boy! Photo by Mike Peel.

This picture must've been taken when the American Idol finale was on or something, cause this place was packed today.   Photo by Kowarisuki.

The place used to be overrun with pigeons, but it hasn't been since they prohibited feeding the filthy flying rats. The birds here are bold - it's not uncommon to see someone with a pigeon perched on their arm, pecking away at whatever they're holding up when I know they'd rather be pecking your eyes out. But there were lots of tourists, and I've noticed that they really like climbing things. All kinds of things. Trees, benches, national monuments, that kind of thing. Apparently, it makes for a really good photo. Until J and I unwittingly stumble into the frame. Oops.

Aslan is not happy. Not happy at all.

Anyway, we spent an hour or so in the Gallery itself, looking at paintings ranging from 300 AD up to 1900. Needless to say, it's a bit overwhelming. There were lots of Jesus paintings, and the requisite bared boobs and naked cherubs flying about. It's kind of odd when you think about the stuff people used to like to paint back in the day: Jesus, the Virgin Mary, cherubs, demons, naked ladies, middle-aged men, random barn animals not excluding dogs. It kind of reminds you of that game: which of these things do not belong?

We then walked to Covent Garden, which became one of the most important markets in London after the great fire of 1666 when all the other markets burned down. Suckas! It's also the birthplace of Punch and Judy, the great ancestors of the Muppets and Sesame Street. The place was paaacked! Punch and Judy are no longer there, but have been replaced with Banana Republic, the Gap, and Reiss, along with a bunch of other large retailers. Locals and tourists alike thronged the joint, and it was a bit of a nightmare getting in and out of the area. But now it's one more area of London I got to know, and I'm happier for it.

Regent Park and the London Zoo tomorrow!