After last night's blog post...there is the slightest possibility that I may or may not have slipped out of the hotel for a bit of "post-evening drinking". Let me tell you something that I may or may not have learned in this experience. Pubs in London start closing at 11pm. 11pm????? WTF is THAT all about?? You do know that that kind of thing will get you beaten up in the states, right? Well...of course, finding out that the first pub closed at 11pm, only meant that I had to venture to ANOTHER pub...right? While at the second pub, I came across a couple of FABULOUS locals...Glen and Seamus...who then insisted on taking us on a "late night tour" of the city. So after pub number 2 closed (11:30p)...we proceeded to a tapas bar for a couple of pints. After the tapas bar closed (1am)...we then proceeded to a night club (The O Club)...which kept on serving bottles of beer until 3am. Yup. 3am. (which, mind you, is only 7pm California time). These guys were such a hoot!! We were able to talk all night about the differences between American and UK culture. We talked sports...for example, why soccer will NEVER catch on the US, versus why professional basketball should never jump the pond. And ended up singing along with the 80's music the DJ was spinning all night long. All in all, a beautiful evening. Thank you so much, Glen and Seamus...if you're ever in the U.S...give a holler!!!
So...needless to say, after getting back to the hotel somewhere around...3:30am...and having not slept since Monday...it should come as no surprise to you that I didn't wake up until 2:30pm today.
Seriously.
OK...so.....not a whole lot one can do after killing an entire day sleeping. So, decided that today would be a nice day/evening to catch a show at the theater. Not being the adventurous type, I decided that it would be best to stick with something I knew to be good...but something I didn't get a chance to see the last time I was in London...
So off to Her Majesty's Theater for the show...
But first...en route...came across a movie premiere in Leicester Square...
OK...so...having lived in LA...a movie premiere for a movie I'll never see is probably not all that impressive...but I have to tell you...seeing hundreds of teenage-d girls lined up for the chance to see Zac Ephron...seriously...how many times do you get to see THAT in a lifetime??
Yeeeaaaahhh...soooooooo....
Before the theater...decided to stop into a pub for a pre-show drink. A sports bar, actually..something right up my alley...right?? Let me tell you about two things that seriously vexed me. Number 1...
Why did no one tell me that you could drink in London at 18? I would have been here YEARS ago!!!
Number 2:
What the hell is ESPN America???? I.....I.......I......OK....there are no words at this point. Last time I checked, ESPN WAS American. How can you actually have an ESPN channel that doesn't show anything NOT American? But hey...I'm the foreigner here....what the hell do I know...right? All I know is that, as long as I get the Steelers game on Sunday....no one gets hurt.
Back to the theater...
So the show was fabulous...as Phantom of the Opera always is. I don't know how many times I've seen it...maybe 4 or 5 times at least...but every time I cry...yeah, yeah, yeah...don't want to hear it...I cry every time. Makes me a chick. So sue me. After leaving the theater, had a chance to check out the city at night...
and it was absolutely gorgeous... I don't know if my little camera gives you all the details, but there's the London Eye...with Big Ben in the background along with 3/4 moon overhead.
After meandering around a bit more...ended up at a bar on Drury Lane (yes, I know the Muffin Man), called Sarastro. What beckoned me was the live singing I could hear coming from inside...from a FABULOUS singer...Colin Roy.
He sings Motown classics, R&B, and fabulously covers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Michael Buble. Let me tell you...if you ever find yourself in Westminster, in the theater district, you MUST visit this place....it is beyond amazing!!
So now it's coming up on 2am...it's probably a good time for me to just send this out and go to sleep...right?
Unless, of course, Glen and Seamus come strolling in the door....then all bets are off!!!
