The October Holidays - Part 1

I imagine this is the closest I'll have for a long while of experiencing the joys of what year-round school must feel like. I started teaching mid-August which seems very early by most American standards. That said, I just got off a two week October break - something I'm quite certain American schools do NOT have (unless on the year-round cycle). Initially, my friend Christine and my sister Erica were supposed to come visit for one week each. We were going to gallivant around Scotland in my super-wagon to see what the rest of the country had to offer. When it came down to it, however, both had to cancel their trips towards the end of September (don't worry - both of these non-trips have happy endings, just bear with me) leaving me with two weeks to fill with exciting adventures. I was perplexed.

So I went with Plan F as I've come to think of it. I rang Andrea in London and invited myself down for my first week off. Having been to London a number of times, it was great to be there A. mid-week when it was significantly less crowded and B. with no clear cut agenda of what I needed to accomplish. I've done the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden (but I go back there every time anyway), St. Pauls, Westminster, etc. a number of times. So I opted to explore some more out of the way places as well as some of my favorites, including the West End Theater!!

My first night in I got off the train at Kings Cross, traveled with all my luggage through the Tube at rush hour and just made it to the 7:30 show of Wicked. It was fantastic. Though I love Idina Mentzel and Kristin Chenoweth, I think I loved my two leads even more. If you've never seen it, put it on your list. And to think, this wasn't even the best show I would see during my week in London. It was fortunate that the show put in me in such a great mood because I needed something positive to make me forget the awful beyond awful hotel I stayed in that night after the show. Andrea and Brian had company my first night in town so I found the cheapest possible hotel (that seemed decent, at least). I checked in at midnight and was out the door by 8 AM. Feel free to ask me about it later but I don't want to taint my blog anymore than I already have with details of this "hotel." Mental note: Sometimes it's worth an extra $40 to stay at the Days Inn.

I spent one whole day wandering around Hampstead Heath - one of the most amazing pieces of green spaces I've seen in (or kind of near) a city. I also walked from Marylebone (where Andrea and Brian live) to the Tate Modern (one of my favorites) and back, sort of. I was mapless the whole day and wanted to travel without using the tube so I got a bit turned around in the crazy London streets. I finally took a taxi back to Marylebone when it became obvious that I was going to be late for dinner with Andrea and Brian and our friend Janet and her husband Allan. I tried... Later that night, I clocked my journey on a GoogleMaps and discovered I walked at least 11 miles that day but that doesn't include walking around museums or all my lost wanderings. By and by, I literally left Covent Garden and walked past the Lion King only to find myself in that exact spot where I started from 30 minutes later. I do not know how that is possible but it reminded me of the time traveling cross country when we saw the sign for Rte. 666, made a mental note to not turn onto it, and found out 30 minutes later that we ended up on it anyway. Without ever turning!! I guess you had to be there.

As I mentioned before, Wicked was great but not the best bit of theater I saw during my week. That honor is reserved for the West End production of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it's about three drag queens driving across the Australian outback in a bus called Priscilla to put on a show at Alice Springs. I am very protective of my movies so when I hear that one of my favorites has been made into a play/musical, I am skeptical. Case in point, I have not seen Billy Elliot yet despite being a bit obsessive about the original movie. I'm so scared it will not be the story I know and love. I'll face that demon eventually. But Priscilla was everything I could hope for in a theater adaptation. It had the original Oscar Award winning costumes (and more), the original story (all major scenes), the original dialogue, and the original soundtrack (and more). It was over the top, raunchy, funny, energetic. Basically everything you'd want out of good night at the theater (if you're into drag queens dancing around stage to Thank God I'm a Country Boy).

But when it comes down to it, this was a trip to visit good friends who were first rate hosts (I mean they put up with me for 4, 5? days). Andrea and Brian may soon get sued by the local B&Bs for poaching their potential customers. Rarely does a week go by that I don't hear of someone coming to visit them. And they are always happy (or at least put on a good front) to give up their living room for company and to make sure they are well taken care of during their time in London. Thank you both! I will see you soon for Thanksgiving! (oh, my, that makes it 3 times in 3 months - I obviously enjoy the London hospitality immensely)

And so my break was off to a great start. Week two, however, is where things fall into place...