August 23-30, 2019: Theatre and a few museums
By the time AlteCocker arrived in London, she was about photoed out. She even kept leaving her camera at her hotel, The House of Toby. The hotel was booked through booking.com. You always are taking a leap of faith when you book a hotel you do not know, but AlteCocker would stay at The House of Toby again. The room was tiny, but one person does not need a lot of space. Air conditioning was available, but, unlike in Prague, when she could have used it, the temperature in London was very comfortable and, while she used it for time to time, she could have survived without it. Having said that, AlteCocker will never again book a hotel in Europe in summer without a/c if a/c is possible.
To get to the hotel, AlteCocker took the train from Gatwick and then a taxi from Paddington. To get to Heathrow for her flight home, AlteCocker walked to King's Cross from her hotel and took the tube. She scoped out the station to find the way to go with the suitcase in elevators without having to deal with stairs. Worked fine and cost very little.
OK, AlteCocker has been to London many times but not in about 20 years. After all, when you begin traveling to Europe, London and Paris are the first two places you think about. Having said that, AlteCocker's goal was not the usual first timer sites, but to see as many shows as possible. She saw 12 in 7 days--her personal best. She had seen 10 one time in 6 days (long before this blog), so she beat her personal best. She did note that most shows on the West End are musicals. Serious drama was thinner, but there was some comedy. The show she liked the best was "Witness for the Prosecution," which was done in a courtroom type of venue. It was based on an Agatha Christie mystery. She booked only 2 shows in advance: "As You Like It" at Shakespeare's Globe and "Evita" at the Regent's Park open air theater (thankfully it did not rain!). The rest she bought from what was available at the Leicester Square half price ticket booth. You will not find "Hamilton" or "Book of Mormon" there, but you will find a wide array of interesting shows--similar to TKTS in New York City.
In addition to the shows, AlteCocker went to the British Museum, Kensington Palace, the Charles Dickens' house (very near the hotel), British Library (also near the hotel) and the Secret Garden (the Secret Garden is opposite the building known as The Shard; because AlteCocker booked too late, she had to eat at the restaurant rather than get in for free).
No photos from The British Museum (one of the days AlteCocker forgot her camera, but book ahead, as there are huge queues. AlteCocker concentrated on the Egyptian area (Rosetta Stone, yes!) and spent awhile communing with the so-called Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon. Then she went to see the Sutton Hoo hoard, but, by that time, she was exhausted and did not give it the time it deserved. There is a sheet with 10 things to see at the British Museum in an hour or two but, AlteCocker's reaction was "Are You Kidding?" The museum is overwhelming and you do have to pick and choose. Due to her age, AlteCocker was let in without queuing. The queue was monumental. She did not realize it would have been better to book ahead, but she got lucky.
Kensington Palace had a nice exhibit on Queen Victoria's clothing and the history of what happened to her children (not all good as several predeceased her, had unhappy arranged marriages, etc.; being royal never meant you had a happy life). AlteCocker did walk down the stairs Queen Victoria walked down when the ministers came to tell her she was now Queen. She was 18 years old! William & Kate live behind the Palace in a special apartment. AlteCocker did not look for nor see them. She did see the coffee shop after walking around the various areas that are open to the public (be sure to see the other areas, not just the Queen Victoria stuff).
The Charles Dickens' House is worth about 45 minutes to an hour--more interesting if you have read some of his books and know something of his biography. AlteCocker bought (what else?) a t-shirt. The best part of the British Library were the historical exhibits. There is a copy of the Magna Carta and a lot of things signed by famous people. It reminded her of the Library of Congress and the Archives back home in Washington, DC. Very interesting!
To get to the hotel, AlteCocker took the train from Gatwick and then a taxi from Paddington. To get to Heathrow for her flight home, AlteCocker walked to King's Cross from her hotel and took the tube. She scoped out the station to find the way to go with the suitcase in elevators without having to deal with stairs. Worked fine and cost very little.
OK, AlteCocker has been to London many times but not in about 20 years. After all, when you begin traveling to Europe, London and Paris are the first two places you think about. Having said that, AlteCocker's goal was not the usual first timer sites, but to see as many shows as possible. She saw 12 in 7 days--her personal best. She had seen 10 one time in 6 days (long before this blog), so she beat her personal best. She did note that most shows on the West End are musicals. Serious drama was thinner, but there was some comedy. The show she liked the best was "Witness for the Prosecution," which was done in a courtroom type of venue. It was based on an Agatha Christie mystery. She booked only 2 shows in advance: "As You Like It" at Shakespeare's Globe and "Evita" at the Regent's Park open air theater (thankfully it did not rain!). The rest she bought from what was available at the Leicester Square half price ticket booth. You will not find "Hamilton" or "Book of Mormon" there, but you will find a wide array of interesting shows--similar to TKTS in New York City.
In addition to the shows, AlteCocker went to the British Museum, Kensington Palace, the Charles Dickens' house (very near the hotel), British Library (also near the hotel) and the Secret Garden (the Secret Garden is opposite the building known as The Shard; because AlteCocker booked too late, she had to eat at the restaurant rather than get in for free).
No photos from The British Museum (one of the days AlteCocker forgot her camera, but book ahead, as there are huge queues. AlteCocker concentrated on the Egyptian area (Rosetta Stone, yes!) and spent awhile communing with the so-called Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon. Then she went to see the Sutton Hoo hoard, but, by that time, she was exhausted and did not give it the time it deserved. There is a sheet with 10 things to see at the British Museum in an hour or two but, AlteCocker's reaction was "Are You Kidding?" The museum is overwhelming and you do have to pick and choose. Due to her age, AlteCocker was let in without queuing. The queue was monumental. She did not realize it would have been better to book ahead, but she got lucky.
Kensington Palace had a nice exhibit on Queen Victoria's clothing and the history of what happened to her children (not all good as several predeceased her, had unhappy arranged marriages, etc.; being royal never meant you had a happy life). AlteCocker did walk down the stairs Queen Victoria walked down when the ministers came to tell her she was now Queen. She was 18 years old! William & Kate live behind the Palace in a special apartment. AlteCocker did not look for nor see them. She did see the coffee shop after walking around the various areas that are open to the public (be sure to see the other areas, not just the Queen Victoria stuff).
The Charles Dickens' House is worth about 45 minutes to an hour--more interesting if you have read some of his books and know something of his biography. AlteCocker bought (what else?) a t-shirt. The best part of the British Library were the historical exhibits. There is a copy of the Magna Carta and a lot of things signed by famous people. It reminded her of the Library of Congress and the Archives back home in Washington, DC. Very interesting!