London 1

Trip Day 1 - Sunday, Feb 16th - Monday, Feb 17th - Atlanta to London

I had a limo drop me off at Portal Pinball and wait while I took part in the Sunday Solid State tournament. I think I tied 3rd with Bryan or was 4th. No matter, it was fun. Then I headed to the airport and got on my flight to London.

I checked into the Radisson Blu Hotel on Mercer Street, close to all the activities I planned to do.

My first activity was a food tour in Soho by Secret Food Tours. The secret is always one unknown dish. We got the Maya French Toast at the Bun House - it was great. The guide, Tom, was awesome. He gave us a lot of history about London and the areas we visited. Because of him, I booked my FOURTH food tour on Friday with Secret Food Tours, the London Bridge Food Tour.

After the tour, I went to the Apollo Theatre to see Austentatious. A really hilarious mix of modern improv done in a Jane Austen background. No Jane Austen knowledge needed (they did tell us she wrote Pride and Prejudice).

Trip Day 2 - Part 1: Tuesday, February 18th - London

A good food tour does more than just satisfy your tummy. It should also satisfy your brain. Not only was this tour fantastic, Nigel Homer provided that mental satisfaction. He had been a history teacher for several years (but gave it up because of the bad pay), but he knows a lot about London. First we went to several sites (TONS AND TONS of TOURISTS). In addition, we went to Borough Market (after a boat ride on the Thames) and there was so much food, I couldn’t finish it.

There were a TON of people at this market and there were queues for most of the stalls. It’s only open from 11 AM to 5 PM 5 days a week.

Trip Day 2 - Part 2: Tuesday, February 18th - London

I went to 2 plays this day. 

First, Mousetrap (thanks Kamarin!), an Agatha Christie play, which was at St Martin's Theatre and has been running since March 1974, making it the longest running play in the world. They tell you not to tell who did it.  I did not guess right and I won't share. 

Then I saw Unicorn, a play with 3 actors. The Unicorn is a younger girl who is asked to become part of a three-some with an older married couple whose marriage is not going well. The older people next to me (I'm older, but then I'm me), left after the intermission so I sat in the guy's seat because the person in front of me was tall.  

Though I didn't note it, I did the same yesterday at Austentatious when I moved two rows up to an empty seat because a tall person was in front of me. As I moved in to the row, I apologized for being so late. They actually don't let you in if you're late.

I need to pick my seats better. I have been picking center seats but you can't see the center if someone tall is in front of you. I need to get seats more at the edge if possible from now on.  

Trip Day 3 - Wednesday, February 19th - Part 1: London

Today was a 6 hour history/food tour. My guide, Mark, knew a lot and explained the buildings around Buckingham Palace. The King doesn’t live there but at the home he had for years at St James Palace. He was in based on the flag. We then walked a long way to the tube.

Trip Day 3 - Wednesday, February 19th - Part 2: London

Mark and I took the tube to Blackfriar Bridge. There were many friars in this area until Henry VIII, wanting to divorce his wife, introduced the Anglican Church getting rid of Catholics. He had 6 wives and you can remember them by Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.  

We crossed over to the south side of the Thames then walked to London Bridge. We then walked to Borough Market and I had Fish and Chips and chocolate ice cream made from goat milk.

The evening's activity was going to the Duchess Theatre to see "The Play that Goes Wrong", a slapstick comedy with a lot of fun silly bits. It seemed that it loosely based on the Mousetrap play with folks snowed in at a house where murders occur, but in this version, nothing stays on the walls, the elevator crashes, the actors get knocked out and stage hands have to replace them until they get knocked out. Hilarious!

I saw a picture in a side street "This is Soho" and thought it was neat. Soho was a hunting term - think of Tally Ho. Soho is in London's West End, so now that you know that London is a square mile, imagine that Soho is to the west of that. Most theatres are in this area and just 20 minutes walk from my hotel, the Radisson, which is at the 7 Dials.

I also found a place called Sirplus that I thought was hysterical.

Trip Day 4 - Thursday, February 20th - London

The Mayfair Chocolate Ecstasy Tour was ecstatic! Or rather I was ecstatic. My guide, Monica, started me in Soho and then we went to Mayfair. There were 6 stops and could have been one more, except I had to get back to Soho from Mayfair in time for my first play.

In prior posts, I mentioned that Soho was to the West of the City of London. Mayfair is to the west of Soho. The theater district is partly in Soho and partly to the South.

We went to a lot of places and there was a lot of tasting. 

After that, I went to my first play of the day, Electra. This was a Greek play by Sophocles with Brie Larson as the star and Stockard Channing as her mother. This was a modern interpretation and I got very confused. The dirigible floating above the cast did not help. I should have read up on it before watching it. I didn't expect to have to do homework though. Brie Larson was very powerful in it, but I barely understood anything that was happening. She just yelled "NO!" a lot. 

The second play was Kyoto. I sat in the participation area and had different actors next to me throughout the play. This play was incredible and ranks as the top one of the week so far. Audacious is second. Tomorrow is the last one of the week, Stranger Things, The First Shadow. Got a pic of the venue which was right across the street from Kyoto.

Trip Day 5 - Friday, February 21st - London



I went on my 4th food tour today. It was the third time to Borough Market and I know the way now taking the Tube - from Covent Garden, take the Picadilly Line for 3 stops, change at Green Park, then Jubilee Line for 4 stops to London Bridge. I signed up for this tour after Monday's tour with Secret Food Tours. At first, I was wary of going YET AGAIN to Borough Market, but there was different food and not as much as when I went on Tuesday and Wednesday. Also, there was a different guide, Gary, who was really good and had different facts and a different point of view. London has so much - I don't think I could ever learn it all.

There were 2 others on the tour - Alison and Amanda, both originally from New Orleans, but now living in France and New York respectively.  

Though we had multiple stops, we also had about 30 minutes to explore the market. I got chocolate covered Turkish Delight, one Rose (original) and one Orange. If you are here, definitely go to the Turkish Deli because they are the nicest people.

I went to my 7th and final show of the week, Stranger Things, First Shadow. It is the story of Henry Creel and how he evolved to become Vecna. He was 001. At the end, he was training 011. It was extremely well done. The technical effects were amazing. It is a show that together with Kyoto, I would see again. I would get other seats though, probably balcony first row, because the show is on multiple levels.