London Never Dies

(Also read the next post first if you want, "Back to the Beat," as they were posted both late and at the same time but from my last few days)

So here I am waiting on the plane for takeoff (obviously this is posted online later) and so so sad to be leaving!!!  On Thursday (yesterday) I woke up a little late (about 11) and went into town to shop with Michael for a bit before he went to see a matinee of Charlotte (they’re like best friends) in Priscilla.  We had light lunch at Costa, one of my favorite coffee chains here (coming in second to Cafe Nero and Pret) and walked through Carnaby Street.  We always have a good laugh and stories together and shopping is always fun with him although he usually spends most of the time laughing AT me...love him to death though.  Then he went to Priscilla and I headed to the tube to go to Camden Town, a big shopping market and unique area, which Ros and I intended to go to together when I lived here, but never got around to it.  So it was good...there are lots of interesting people and goth shops around there, surprisingly, but the houses and buildings are all pastel colored and there are two (if not more) outdoor markets and tons of shops.  So that was fun and it was relatively nice outside for it.  Then after about 2 and a half hours in Camden, it was time to get back to Central London so I got back on the tube and headed to Oxford Street, which, I intended to do that morning, had I woke up on time, haha.  I went in TopShop first, of course which oh my gosh is massive!!!!  They are adding on floors and expansions and sell sooo much there now!  One of my favorite brands of bags and such, Nica, is now sold there along with a really large Freedom Top Shop jewelry section, and an ENTIRE FLOOR of shoes.  :)  It was heaven let me tell you.  But I’d been to a smaller one in Wakefield with Ros so I only just got a few accessories and a present for one of my sisters at the big one, but it was amazing to look around.  Also, TopShop in London, despite the fact that there are never any sales (I mean never), unlike the New York one, it is still cheaper prices even with the exchange rate to buy things at the London Top Shops rather than in New York.  I also went in some other favorite shops like River Island and Jane Norman and Accessorize and Monsoon.  Didn’t buy too much at that point, but I had gotten a new bag of luggage for a pretty good price (considering it’s size) at the H & M in Camden, and placed all my purchases of the day in there.  I really like the bag and I think it will be quite useful in the future as well.  It’s black pho-leather and duffel style (but chic-er) and no shoulder strap.  But it holds quite a lot and was the perfect size for what I needed.  They did charge me extra at the airport for it unfortunately, but oh well, not much I could do about that, suppose I can consider it part of the price of my flight, and I put it on my Virgin Atlantic Card, which will hopefully get me some miles!  By the way, after this flight miles are redeemed, I will have only a couple hundred miles short of a free flight to London or the equivalent on Virgin Atlantic!  So, when I’m a poor starving artist and want to come visit (or live permanently!!!) I can do so and only pay taxes on the flight!  Yay!  I expect it will be in 2011 sometime that I come back...the fall or winter at the very earliest, but that would only be if I were seeking/interviewing for a job.  

Anyway where was I.  I then walked up Tottenham Court to the Bagel Nash next to Hairspray and the convenience store, both of which were manned by the same storemen I used to see daily!  I picked up my bottle of Evain for 79p (sooo cheap here!) from the store where the man there said hello and chatted with me about my stay and then went to Bagel Nash, where the nice guy who was still there from two years ago or whatever recognized me and gave me the discount I used to get of 10% for working next door on Hairspray!  So I thought that was nice of him!  And my usual bagel and granola parfait were familiarly delicious, nothing like it.  :) So after shopping a bit on Oxford Street it was about half 6 and time to head towards the Strand to see Ros’s show, Love Never Dies, which my friend Helen is Dance Captain and Swing for as well.  However...I couldn’t take the tube because there were people lined up in standstill queues all the way up the stairs and into the street of Oxford Street Station!  So I tried to ask many people along my way for directions, made it to Piccadilly Circus, decided to take a tube, but got off at Leichester Square instead of Covent Garden (couldn’t remember which one I knew the way from--it’s about in between) and unfortunately had no idea how to get there from Leichester Square, although I knew it was fairly close, not at all a straight walk.  And if you dont know, London is not a grid like New York, it is loads of five and even six way intersections, roundabouts, and reallly impossible to sort out if you get lost, to be honest.  And after several failed attempts to regain my bearings, it was past 7 (show at 7:30) and I decided to give up and hailed a cab.  I was only 5 pound cab ride (in pretty heavy traffic mind you) from the theatre so that was all right and I made it there with time to spare and change into a new jacket/top and the heels I’d brought along to wear out after.  

The show itself was gorgeous, really.  My seat was in the Upper Circle (meaning top balcony) in Row D on an end, so my view was slightly obstructed (I paid less as well though so it was okay) but really a beautiful show.  Took definite strides in combining projection with scenery and I’ve never seen anything quite like it.  It just opened on Tuesday, so the house was very full and there were only programmes and cds as merchandise since it’s so new.  Most of the music was absolutely brilliant and the actors also were mostly stunning both vocally and otherwise.  I knew without reading anything about it what time period it was because of the architecture and design.  I am a sucker for Art Nouveau anything, really, so I think that was half the reason I loved the set.  But the projections went on a giant scrim, which the actors were behind, and during one song, images of Coney Island zoomed on the scrim with a spot on the actress, making it look like she was in a film, and set pieces and trapeze artists surrounding her, also looking as though they were part of this giant film.  Amazing.  It was really sad but powerful ending, as you can imagine with a title like Love Never Dies, but I enjoyed it a lot!  I met Ros at stagedoor after, and she beat me to it!  I took my time leaving the theatre and getting to stagedoor because I knew Ros used to take ages getting ready to go out after Hairspray, but little did I know, she got to change and get ready during the final scene!  So that was surprising haha.  We were headed to Sophie’s.  First though, Ros and I got a little lost, as Ros had never been and it ended up that we had walked straight past the pub!!! Oops!  She used a phone a friend lifeline as I told her she was doing and we headed the other way, laughing about the fact that neither of us noticed the massive pub and “Sophie’s” sign that we had passed in confusion.  We went to meet up with Rachael, Michael and a bunch of the Legally Blonde cast and crew, as it was the Deputy Wardrobe, Tim’s last day at Legally, he is moving on to Hair, when it comes to London.  Tim also was wardrobe Dep on Hairspray so I knew him too, lovely guy in his mid-forties and close friends with Rach--they’ve worked together on various West End shows in wardrobe for the past four years!  We also met Rach’s two friends, Annika, who worked at the White Hart, the pub we all used to go to after many many Spray shows, and her other friend whose name I can’t remember at the moment, but she is stage door receptionist for War Horse, also on the west end.  So for awhile I sat with Annika, Rach, Ros and Michael, they stayed for about two, and then Ros and Michael had to catch trains to be up “early” the next morning (okay, well I don’t think anything later than 7:30 is “early” haha) but it was lovely to see them.  Then I went with Rach, Annika, her friend, and another wardrobe for Legally named Mary from New Zealand to a club down the road in Covent Garden called “Roadhouse,” which while a bit trashy in comparison to some London Clubs, was still better than any in America that I’ve been to, for the most part.  They first told us they closed doors at 1:30 (it was 1:45) and wouldn’t let us in, but after we told them Annika worked at White Hart and the rest of us on Legally (haha me included), we got in, free of the 5 pound cover charge as well!  Ah have never paid for a club in London whilst out with my friends from Spray and such, thanks to that little perk of working on the West End!  As we walked in, the security guard, obviously knowing many of the other girls, gave them all big hugs with open arms, and me included, which was hilarious.  I shared drinks there and we danced and it was all good fun, and we left about three in a cab home, which we all shared except Mary who caught a night bus.  Got home about 4 and woke up about 9:30, in time to pack up and head into town for a little while...of course Rach still slept haha!

I went to Embankment and walked along the Thames for a bit.  The weather was glum (of course because this is the day I’m leaving, London is even sad! haha) and that post-rain sort of smell--the London version of it.  I didn’t realize before that London does have a different scent than New York and such.  Of course it changes per where you go, but overall in general the air smells different, somewhat fresher, and the sky somehow manages to be gorgeous despite often being overcast.  So I stopped along my way at the Embankment cafe and had Porridge :) and a latte and some sort of sparkling special orange juice.  I went to Waterloo bridge to take a few pictures and to the cashpoint and the store to get more chocolate of course!  I headed back to Rach’s then, and called a cab (the cheapest one!) to come a bit after 14:00.  My luggage was basically all set, so I carried it downstairs and said bye to Rach and now here I am.  So sad to be leaving lovely London, but I am sure it won’t be too long before I am back here.  I love it here and someday I will live here for more than two months.  What an amazing amazing last spring break.  I think I will go into the last few months of school with new energy and I know I’m ready to move on to bigger things after Penn State.  Farewell London, thanks for giving me the time of my life, again.

Cheers,

Sam

Back to the Beat!

So today was a trip back to a little less than two years ago!  I got to shop with Ros plus visit the Shaftesbury!  First I went to Harrods while I waited for Ros to wake up and saw the largest chocolate easter egg ever in my life, for 795 quid!  Ridiculous!  Especially because i spotted a crack in it!  Anyway went to their cafe and had a really nice little coffee and pastry (needed the coffee) and walked around the shoe section and souvenirs, until it was time to go meet Ros.  I was only there for about 30-40 minutes, but good enough!  I love Harrods...talk about shoppers heaven.  Then Ros met me at Hammersmith where we continued across the road to the tube to go to Westfield shopping mall.  We shopped lots and got to catch up a lot and it was really great!  We had late lunch at Spaghetti House, some salad and appetizers which was pretty good although our server was less than friendly to us, fortunately a rare thing in England as I’ve found.  We went to our favorite shops like River Island, Debenhams, Miss Selfridges, TopShop, and House of Frazier.  It was a good day!  Then we rode the tube back in and I rode/walked with Ros as I went to get a ticket for tomorrow to see the show she’s on, Love Never Dies.  Ended up with an obstructed view seat, but pretty good deal so hopefully it’ll be alright.  Then I walked up the road to the Shaftesbury to go see everyone at Hairspray.  By everyone I mean it’s been awhile so there are five cast members from the original (two of them had since left and come back) and a little over half the crew, although I was only really close with a few of them.  My friends Emma and Sarah talked to me for awhile and it was good to see other cast and crew members there.  I walked upstairs onstage and seriously it was as if someone put me in a time machine and I was there doing my job as per every day usual, getting there a little before six.  The set pieces moved in the same formation at 6, they are the same (well, a couple are looking a little rougher--the rats especially look like they have aged! lol) but other than that, it was as if I’d never left....until the cast came onstage for warmup and I realized that it was basically a whole slew of different people, most of whom smiled at me probably figuring I had worked there at some point, considering it closes in a few weeks, so being a new person wouldn’t make sense.  Warmups had changed considering it was a new dance captain and musical director leading them, and also the stage management dressing room had moved downstairs in with the props, and they added a Motormouth dressing room upstairs where ours had been in 33.  It was sad really to see it and have to leave but good to know that things were just as I left them.  As I left, Harry the stagedoor man said “Sa-hm see you tomorrow then?”  like he always did, and I had to say “No, sorry, I don’t think so!”...quite sad I guess.  But it was good to see everyone and be able to say hi and bye one last time before the Beat really does stop :(  ...it is going on a UK tour tho, so that’s good I guess, just not the same people.

After that I had stayed a little over an hour and was definitely time for me to get to the Piccadillly Theatre to see Grease! which my friend Michael from Hairspray is in.  This week he is on for Doody, tho he usually plays Eugene.  The show, as I realized, watching Michael up there, is much like Hairspray!  Michael is much the same parts as in Hairspray as well, which was funny, but he had two songs where he sang lead so that was good!  We went after for a drink and then I walked him to Waterloo station and of course we gossiped about our lives the entire way...”storytime” as I call it, and I loved it.  Michael and I are shopping tomorrow morning and having lunch and then I’m going to head to Camden Town (have never been) before going to see Love Never Dies and out for drinks with several Sprayers tomorrow on my last night.  Can’t believe how fast it’s gone!  Must get to bed now...probably will do some walking/shopping in the morning...not buying toooo much no worries mom, but it’s more for the idea of going shopping that I just have to relive.  I might go back to Shaftesbury area to Bagel Nash and to get a picture in front of the theatre if I have time, those two things I didn’t get to do.

I wrote this post Wednesday night though it’s posted later, because I don’t really get internet much at Rachael’s unless I use her dongal connection USB.  

More later!

Cheers!

~Sam~

Canterbury and other Tales

So, yesterday I took a day trip to Canterbury!  I was there to visit my friend Spencer, who was a theatre student who studied abroad at Penn State for a year last year!  My two friends who are currently studying theatre abroad at PSU also go to Kent Uni in Canterbury.  So first I woke up at 7 and finished packing up, as yesterday I moved here to stay with Rachael, my friend from Hairspray.  I went to breakfast at 8 with Kaitlin and Chuck and checked out of my room and checked my luggage around 9.  I then went to the tube to Waterloo East, and since I had bought my ticket the day before, went straight to the trains and thank goodness, the 9:15 was running 11 minutes late so I caught it!  The train ride was nice, and I arrived in Canterbury around 11, only to find Spencer waiting with his tiny seafoam green english car...I was so excited to have a ride in a car other than a cab, and in the front seat!  So that was exciting.  We stopped by his house to pick up something and then headed into town, which as Spencer made fun of me for, the only word I was using for everything in Canterbury was "cute" because oh my gosh howwww cute that town was!  After running some errands that Spencer needed to do, we went to the Cathedral, a really gorgeous one!  It started to rain a little, but we walked on anyway and back to the car to go to Kent University Campus.  There, I met some of Spencers friends and classmates.  They were working on a "show" which was a car turned into a sort of home that would be performed in a car park.  I went along with him to two production meetings for it and saw a bit of campus and the theatre scene shop on the way!  It was good, and I didn't really mind the fact that I had to sit through meetings, they were short and quite interesting to me.  Then we walked around and went to eat on campus at Origins and had burgers.  Get this: you can get a pint of alcohol anywhere on campus at all the food courts, etc!  This would be the equivalent of them selling alcohol all day at the HUB and dining halls!  I thought it was crazy but obviously they don't have the drinking problems that Penn State does!!! haha!  There are also bars and clubs on campus, also crazy!  So after that we headed to the bookstore and I picked up a tshirt and then Spencer and his roommate/friend Pip and him took me back to the train station around 3:45pm.  I caught at 4:04 train, which ended up being about 10 minutes faster than on the way in!  After getting on the tube and getting to Earl's Court, I went and picked up my luggage from the hotel and walked it back to the tube.  By this time it was half 6 (6:30) and I got on my way to Rachaels, and she lives at Hunslow East, which is on the Piccadilly Line towards Heathrow Airport.  I got here and got a 5 pound cab to her door!  It is a cute little house and I have a cute little room (there I go using "cute" again) and after helping Rachael straighten her hair, watching some Friends on TV and chatting we got ready to leave.  Her dad, who lives up the road, drove us to the tube stop since Rachael was wearing heels.  Rachael got a last minute invite to the Opening Night Party of "Love Never Dies" the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, and the show that Ros is ASM on, and my other friend Helen is the dance captain.  So I was left on my own, as no one was really free to meet up and it was too late for a show, and Kaitlin and Chuck, while without mobiles anyway, said they'd be really tired and not do much at night, and it was already a little past 10.  So I took the tube to Covent Garden with Rach and headed off to find some dinner, which of course I found at Pret.  Having no idea what the night would hold for me, after eating and drinking some coffee, I just started walking.  It was a gorgeous night.  I got to Trafalgar Square, kept walking and finally found the London Eye and bridge across the Thames, which I walked across.  I was excited because I never got to see this area at night because I was always at Hairspray (it gets darker later in Summer also) and so that was good.  I walked all the way across it and down a bunch of steps.  Thought about taking a river cruise, but had just missed it so decided against it.  Then just kept walking kind of towards Big Ben when I found what to me looked like an arcade.  Only the workers were there, it being a Tuesday night.  So I went in and probably, making a fool of myself asked really dumb questions like "So what is this, an arcade, casino?" Their reply "uhhh yeah arcade, you could call it that."  Subtext:  "stupid americans who knows what they're thinking".  Yeah so I found one game that was 10p and thought I might as well try it.  I think it was a slot machine but I didn't really understand at all, so after about 20p I stopped playing.  Good to know tho if I need to get rid of coins later!
Then I walked out and asked where the iMax theatre was.  They told me to go to the Eye and turn right, so I did and just kept walking till I hit Waterloo, and the iMax theatre.  (if you dont know, by now I've walked from Covent Garden to Waterloo and it's a little past 11...wow!)  It's this giant round building in the middle of a roundabout and I couldn't figure out how to get in!  So I asked some girl on a bike, also who had a similar subtext to the arcade workers, although she was nice about it, and pointed me down a ramp.  I got in and found that Avatar was playing at 11:45.  This would be perfect because Rachael would be until at least 2 and I had never seen the movie or any iMax movie!  So I got in for less than 10 pounds and let me tell you...my heart was beating for ages!  It was like I was IN the war with them!  The animation was fantastic though and I'm glad I saw it.  A little disoriented, I hurried out of the theatre after the movie.  Rachael had been calling and texting saying the party ended at 1 but they were continuing on.  I called myself a cab (called "BetterTaxi" in my phone) and waited for it in front of Waterloo Station. I met them at a place called Ballans on Old Compton Rd back near Leichester Square.  Ros was there!!!  As well as about three other Sprayers, one of whom was Ben Ellis who I'd seen now two nights in a row...odd of all people haha.  I had a drink and they ate and drank and it was really really lovely to see Ros and hang out with both of them.  We called a cab and split it three ways home (Ros lives quite close to Rach in Northfields) and just had a blast.  Got home around 4am.  I slept in til like 9:30 but Rach will probably sleep until 2 in the afternoon she said!  So I'm gonna venture out now and meet up with Ros at this giant shopping mall call Westfields, recently built since I left, and we are going shopping!  (...mayyyy have to buy another bag...ugh winter clothes take up so much space!)  :)  Also am seeing Michael in Grease tonight!  He usually plays Eugene, but this week he is on covering for Doody so that's good!
So I gotta go finish getting ready now, but more soon!
Cheers!
~Sam~

You can make a fine living in a pair of heels.

So I will start going backwards through the day.  First we'll start with the most amazing thing tonight...Priscilla Queen of the Desert (title is a line from the show).  Think men in platforms, cupcake dresses, paintbrush dresses, and a full size bus covered in LED lights.  Yep you probably don't even have an image close to how ridiculous and amazing this show was.  I went to see my friend Charlotte (she understudied Tracy while I was there) play one of the three Diva ladies who usually entered from the sky and were just that: Divas.  She was so in her element and brilliant and I could tell she enjoyed every moment of it.  Her solo song was "I Will Survive" (it's all eighties music, to make it even better) and she KILLED it like wow.  Amazing.  I was so proud to see her up there and not even wearing a Tracy Turnblad costume!  I stood to wait for her at the stagedoor after and saw Rachael who played Amber in Hairspray while I was on it!  And then Ben walked up (was Link in Spray) and Charlotte's mum said it was like she was seeing Hairspray all over again!  So it was good and then said bye and missed seeing my friend Tommy who runs the fly system/automation for Priscilla and got me my discounted tickets.  He leaves tomorrow for Spain which I didn't know, but it was crazy with it being a new cast night and all, so unfortunately I didn't get to see him.  He was an ASM with me and is close friends with my friend Ros too.
Before the show, we'll start from morning.  I woke up early, had hotel breakfast (quite good!) and then headed to Tottenham Court Road (well, Goodge St more like) to Paperchase...aka scrapbooking/stationary/art HEAVEN!  Four floors of beauty haha.  After buying well, a years worth of stuff no Michael's store would ever have, I was pleased and took a tube up to Old Street to my old neighborhood and a little blast from the past.  As I felt at home walking up the street I noticed that where a 7 foot long wall once stood...there was a giant concrete skyscraper structure!  (still in progress)  but amazing!  I got to Thoresby house and proceeded to the Texaco, which was bustling sorta outside with cars filling with "petrol" but then I went up to the door (open 24 hours) and it was locked!  There was a police officer inside talking to the cashier, who waved me that they were closed.  I'm not sure, maybe something had just happened, but people outside seemed to be going about business as usual.  So, I left and headed back to the hotel where I met Kaitlin and Chuck to go to My Old Dutch, a pancakes (crepes sorta) place where Mondays are all 5 quid.  It was in Kaitlin's old neighborhood, which was fun to see and we also saw Hugh Grant's house, and the security guard came out, only, i think, to realize we were harmless tourists.  After lunch, we got cupcakes at Hummingbird bakery, and the black bottom cupcake was way better than any i've ever had, even at great New York cupcake places.  Then we rode the tube to Westminister to see the London Eye!  It was my favorite tourist attraction and the sky was really kind of pretty even though it was cloudy the sun was shining through the clouds and I got gorgeous shots.  We had fun.  Then I went to Leichester Square to meet up with Tim, who used to be the mixer (sound) at Hairspray.  I learned a lot about the "art" of sound from him and he is working on this great new project which basically makes theatres more environmentally conscious and it's called the Theatre Trust. I stopped by his office, saw a little about what he did and then we went for a drink after and talked some more.  He is a great connection and really intelligent, one of the people who always took me under their wing at the Shaftesbury, as he is a bit older and married.  So that was really good and I got to talking a little bit more business than I have been.
Then I headed down the road to pick up my tickets for Priscilla, and found a Costa to have a light dinner and a coffee there.
Had a wonderful wonderful night.  So proud of Charlotte!  Can't wait to see Spencer tomorrow, he studied abroad at PSU last year and I'm going to visit him at Kent Uni tomorrow!  Plus am also moving to stay with Rach (another friend from Hairspray) for the rest of the week!
More soon!
xx Sam

Gorgeous London Sunday

Yesterday I first woke up late (because my iTouch still thinks it's in America) so I was mad I missed the hotel breakfast, but glad for the rest.  I got up and went to Liverpool and after it took a good while because of tube line closures.  Once I finally got there, after getting lost for a little bit, I finally found what I think was Petticoat Market, although I was looking for Spitafields.  I walked through and it was nice because not many people were out and vendors were putting things on sale since it was so cold and not many were out considering it was a Sunday.  I got two tops for 5 pounds altogether!  And some souvenirs and gifts and other things.  Then I found Spitafields market which was just awesome!  At this point I hadn't eaten yet so I went into a cafe and got a "Pud," Blackberry Mango flavored (yoghurt) and a latte.  I shopped in the semi-indoor market for another hour or so (very successful) and then headed back to the tube.  I was headed to the Wallace Collection, an old house/museum that a professor told me I needed to see.  So I got off the tube at Bond Street, which if you don't know, is pretty much the beginning of Oxford Street for me...so I was of course very tempted to shop.  I only went into HMV, a discount chain electronics store (much like Best Buy but more focused on cds and movies) to buy the Michael Ball cd, which has my Hairspray cast on it, and the movie "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging," a movie based on a book that I've wanted to see but never came to America.  Then  after I got directions from the nice security guard at HMV, I headed to the Wallace Collection.  I was sooo glad I went!  The rooms were just as if out of a text book for Period Research class in the 16th and 17th Century.  I even saw several furniture pieces made by Boulle, and chairs of Louis XV and Louis XIV.  Also I saw my favorite painting, "The Swing."
After that I went back and got on the tube  back to my hotel.  I waited for Kaitlin, Chuck and Emily to return from the London Tower.  We then went for Fish and Chips dinner at a place on St. James, right near the Wallace Collection, that I had seen.  It was really great and we had pints there as well (believe it I'll drink a pint here because they have Strongbow!)  Then we went back on the tube to Angel Street Station, right where I used to live almost two years ago.  I wanted to take everyone to O'Neills, a great pub there.  So we went there and I had an Apple Sour, which also doesn't exist in America...it tastes like an Apple Jolly Rancher!  We met three guys there, one from Scotland and the other two English, ages 18-24, two brothers and their younger cousin, all of whom hadn't slept in two days!  I met the oldest one, Martin, who asked me if I'd seen him dance, among talking with me about the fact that he had just been accepted to NYU Law Graduate School and was torn as to whether he should say yes or not.  Of course I convinced him he should go!  Martin and his brother Mark came and met Emily, Chuck and Kaitlin, sat with us, then proceeded to do an awful but incredibly hilarious "Irish dance" for us, while Martin mimed playing a flute.  We laughed so hard we almost cried at the entire ordeal and the three of them really were comedians in a whole conversation with us, but the pub was closing since it was a Sunday but only 11, so we went a couple blocks down the road to another place open later.  It was kind of a cheesy American mock bar, but fun nonetheless.  One brother (Mark) had to go home (they lived in Islington on the road) to wake up early for work but the youngest and oldest stayed out with us and we had a really fun night with them!  We all laughed a lot and Chuck met some Irishman who told him "F*** the English, the Irish are with you!"  (meaning Americans).  I didn't meet the guy, but I saw him talking to Chuck and the story was funny.  Then we called the number I have that you can ask what night bust to catch, and we caught an N38, which was the same bus I always took to work!  From my stop as well!  It was a trip down memory lane, and I loved passing by everything I used to see everyday, except it was nighttime.  We sat at the very front on the top level of the double decker bus, before getting off at Hyde Park, and walking up to Marble Arch, since the stop was closed that we were supposed to change buses at.  At this point, Emily had stayed and waited for her bus to the airport, as she was flying out of Luton at 6am.  So finally we found the N97 very easily and got on it and got home fairly quickly.  So that was the night.  Today I'm going to shop in the morning (Paperchase! woo!!!  --my favorite English stationary/art store) and then we're meeting for pancakes (crepes).  Tonight is Charlotte's Opening night of Priscilla so I'm very excited for that!
Cheers to a gorgeous London...even if it is a little cold.  Good thing I got really chic real leather gloves with a collage on them!...so cool!
More soon!
~Sam~

Day 1- no no no jet laggg

That's right no jet lag for me!  I slept lots on the plane actually!  Then we got here and had to take a Heathrow Express since there were closures in zone 4 on the piccadilly line, more expensive, but it was fine.  Then we got to our hotel around 1pm (London time) and checked in right away!  My room is really nice, small, one bed and a nice bathroom and shower, which I used right away and felt like a new person after!  Then Kaitlin, Chuck, Emily and I went to Portobello Market.  Emily is a Penn State Thespian who is studying in Paris and met us here for two days!  Kaitlin is a good friend of mine who studied here for a semester last year, and her boyfriend, also a friend of mine, who has never been to England.  We walked through the market and got a deal on scarves.  Then I had found an Orange Mobile...turned out it closed!  So a nice man in a pub I walked into told me where one nearby was and I went and got a new sim card and phone number so my phone here could work again!
After that I got ahold of my friend Steven here and we met up and saw Oliver! the musical.  Although we paid a little more than we wanted to...it was well worth it just for the set!  It was in the same theatre as Lord of the Rings the musical...a massive stage...biggest I have EVER seen and SO well used.  The set was so epic it was almost opera-style.
After that I said bye to Steven and went to the theatre where Mamma Mia is playing. In the downstairs Delfont Room is a bar and cabaret style stage and my friend Leanne Jones who was Tracy while I was on Hairspray had her one woman show there, "Have You Met Miss Jones?" which was absolutely incredible.  I have some very talented friends and have seen some great Cabaret nights but hands down this one was the best.  I had not really heard her sing much other than Hairspray (almost 60-some shows of it!) and let me tell you I knew she was talented but wow so incredible!  I sat at a table with her friend Abby and her friend Zoe.  She had done a concert at Royal Albert Hall with Abby and the two girls were just absolutely hilarious the whole night and we became instant friends which was nice since I was by myself (Michael was supposed to come along but he was ill and didn't even go in to work).  I got to speak with Leanne after and we planned to get coffee this week while I'm here so that will be nice!
I caught a night bus home (no more mommy's money to take cabs!) and amazingly I think it only took me about 20-30 minutes to figure out what bus to take out of Piccadilly Circus!  (Tubes stop running at midnight and the show only started at 11pm).  I was happy I figured it out because the bus system is pretty impossible to comprehend (I still don't get it even though I've taken tons of buses).  Our hotel is right around the corner from the tube station at Earl's Court, and so is the bus stop.
So all in all it's been an amazing day.  Not sure what I'll do tomorrow but I know that I am meeting Kaitlin, Chuck, and Emily for Fish and Chips dinner!  They want to do the Tower of London...which if the first time I was asking "where is the gift shop?" chances are if I went a second time, my attention span would be even smaller, beautiful/awesome as it is there!
I'm sooo happy to be here I can't even stand it.  And I'm so excited to see everyone!
Cheers to London--my favorite place in the world, truly!
~Sam~

Hello London!

We are here!  Everything went smoothly and I'm currently riding the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station...free WiFi wooo hoooo!  We had about 15 minutes delay to land but other than that it was a great flight and I remembered why I fly Virgin Atlantic, they are just amazing.  Next is getting to the hotel, check in at 1pm, figuring out my phone, maybe Portobello Market, before meeting up with a friend to see Oliver! tonight!
More later...Cheers!
~Sam~

Watch out London I'm baaacckkkkk

So! I'm returning to London in exactly one week for the first time since my last entry on this site! Sure, just for a week's vacation but I figure what better way to remember the details (and keep those of you stuck at home over break entertained) of my trip than to continue my blog! I hope old readers and new ones will read on! As I prepare (sooo last minute) to leave, wish me luck and hope I don't forget anything! See you across the Atlantic!

Cheers!

~Sam~