Mmmm...Sunday mornings I love you.
Anyway, so it's taking me forever to write the wrap-ups for my Spring Break, no? Fear not, here comes segment 4.
After Ryan and I got home from Heaven, we decided to lay off the bars for a while. Our experience at that club was memorable, but we took it as a sign that maybe we should, um, calm down a bit.
We slept in hard-core on Tuesday because we were so exhausted from the night before. When we were finally ready to go, I felt like crap--stupid PMS. Luckily, Ryan understood that I can be difficult during this uggy time. We decided to take it easy and just wander the city for a while.
First stop was Westminster, home of Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and, um, Westminster Abby. It was awesome getting out of the tube station because you walk up the stairs and--BAM!--there's Big Ben. The whole block is absolutely stunning. The architecture literally made me lose my breath. I took tons of pictures of the Houses, but they don't do them justice.
As a side note--Big Ben isn't nearly as big as one would think. I was a bit disappointed. In all the photos you see, it's massive. In real life....not so much. It's still a gorgeous clock, but it's not this towering, uh, tower that everyone thinks it is.
Westminster Abby was across the road from the Houses. We got there around 1, so at the top of the hour, the chimes began playing. It was the most uplifting thing I have ever heard. I literally stopped what I was doing when I heard them. It's the closest I've ever come to a religious experience (besides seeing Madonna in concert, of course). Though, I could argue that this entire trip was a religious experience, because I really do feel different after returning from the UK.
We spent a good hour just gazing at the Abby and the Houses. Pictures don't do these places justice. In my humble opinion, the Houses of Parliament are the most beautiful buildings on earth. (Yes, I say this after being in Paris.)
We then traveled in search of the Shakespearean Globe Theater. It's in the area by the Tower Bridge so of course I went to see that and flipped out because of it's ties to SpiceWorld. The Bridge is fantastic. I can see why it's photographed so much. I'm not an architecture student, but I was amazed by it all the same--as I was by practically every building in London.
We wandered and tried to find the Globe Theater, but couldn't. The signs that were pointing us towards it were WRONG. We found a bunch of pubs but no theater. We found a quaint village that looked like it was stuck in Shakespearean times, but no theater. The road was adorable--all cobblestoned and blocked off to vehicles. We wandered the village searching, but somehow didn't find the theater. I was pissed, Ry was disappointed. So we went home and napped.
I needed a nap. I wanted to be all rested up for....
Phantom of the Opera!!!
I was looking forward to this so much. Come on--how can you pass up going to see an amazing musical at the theater where it was born? Um, not me.
Getting there was amazingly easy. Ryan and I have no sense of direction, which made for us getting lost quite a bit. But, amazingly, Ryan found the road to the theater quite easily.
Our seats weren't the best, which pissed me off a bit since I'd paid a shitload for them. We were in the second balcony. It turned out to be beneficial, though, because the stage space is definitely utilized.
The play was amazing. The actor who played the Phantom was phenomenal and the actress who played Christine put a vulnerable, yet strong spin on her. I was annoyed by Raoul and thought he needed to be more passionate, but the rest of the cast was amazing. My mouth was agape for the first fifteen minutes of the show. And I teared up during the overture because I couldn't believe that I was actually seeing it in London. It seemed surreal. It was fabulous.
I was going to write about Wednesday, but it's taken me an hour to write this, so...no. I promise it won't take me as long to write the next installment.
Ciao, dahling!
~*Krissy*~