The last few days have been jam packed! Some more family time and then back to London we went, on the 30th, ready for our new years eve celebrations. We booked to see Wicked and then decided we would watch the fireworks on The Thames afterwards.
The 31st came along and we spent the day resting ready for the late night ahead, and because we’d gone to bed at 2am the night before. Anyone who knows us will know this is a big feat for us as we are definitely early night people. We are usually in bed by 9:30-10pm and mum has an uncanny ability to fall asleep, wherever she is and if she lets herself, around 7:30pm! In fact on the 30th we watched “Elf” that mum slept the whole way through before waking up, totally alert and staying up until 2!
Our night started with dinner at Il Posto an Italian restaurant right next to the Apollo Victoria Theater where Wicked is. It was very busy and we were seated next to a mother and daughter who we got talking to. They were from Austin, Texas and gave us some great travel destination recommendations for American and Europe. After dinner we went to WICKED!!!
I have wanted to see Wicked since I was little. I’ve never known what the musical is about but ever since seeing the Wicked poster on a billboard in Perth I’ve wanted to see it so I was very excited. When booking our tickets to Wicked we were a little dubious about where we were sitting. We were told we needed to be tall, at least 173cm, and at 168cm and below, and we don’t fit the “tall” description. We were also under the impression that we were in the stalls right at the back as we wanted cheap tickets and had booked late. When we arrived we were directed to the circle and found we were on the first row of the second tier. Great seats, right in the center, that were only slightly restricted view. To see the whole stage we only had to lean forward slightly in our seats. Perfect!
The production was just phenomenal! The whole cast were amazing and Willemijn Verkaik and Savannah Stevenson were out of this world! Their voices and performances were absolutely fantastic. I loved the story too and how it all links in with The Wizard of Oz. Well worth going to see, I want to go again already!
We then walked to Lambeth Bridge to watch the fireworks on The Thames. From our spot on the bridge we could see the Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) and a side view of The London Eye. When the clock struck 12 the new year was started with a bang. Amazing fireworks! When they ended we started our journey home. We caught an overground train to Clapham Junction and by this time we were feeling a little peckish so decided to get some chickpea and spinach soup, hot chocolate and mashed potato (Mum, Mikayla and I respectively) from a place on the station. We then waited at our platform for about 45 minutes before being told there were no more overground trains running, great…
Our quick train ride home turned into a not so quick bus journey home. We had to find the bus stop we needed and then waited at least another 30 minutes at this stop for the correct bus to come along. We eventually got so fed up that we left to find a taxi rank. On the way we were stop by a very nice local lady who directed us to the taxi rank because we looked very lost. It was in the opposite direction to where we were headed. On the way back past the road to the bus stop we were waiting at I looked back and noticed our bus had finally come! We sprinted the 50m to the bus that thankfully let us on, we were on our way. Another bus change with some more running up and down between stops to get the correct bus with enough space for us, we were on the home stretch and eventually walked in the door at 3:15am. Another record!
I hope everyone’s new year celebrations were as fun and exciting as our were, whatever is it you got up to, and that your trip home went much smoother than ours.
Though it’s late HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We hope your 2014 is full of happiness and health!
Here We Come World 