I woke up with the thrill of being in my favorite city! Today was probably the longest day I've had in a while.
Carissa left early in the morning to the airport so for the next two days I planned to hang out with Paris whom I hadn't seen since the last time I studied abroad.
Carissa had gone to see Mamma Mia the night before I arrived and that inspired me to go see a show as well. I really wanted to see Wicked the Musical since it's a classic and figured I would take Paris along if I could get cheap rush tickets. I waited for the rush tickets but wasn't able to get them so I just paid a little bit more for the matinee and figured I could meet Paris after the show.
My first stop of the day was to grab a quick breakfast at a Swedish bakery. I know I should have probably gotten an English breakfast since I was in London but the Swedish bakery brought back such fond memories of my time in Sweden. I got one of my favorite pastries from Sweden - the cardamom twist.
I wandered through Trafalgar square which was a big mess since everything was gated off for the London marathon happening tomorrow. I walked past the royal opera house and popped in to see if I could take a tour but they were showing Cinderella the ballet so no tours were happening.
There was this viral dark chocolate mousse shaped like a sleeping bear I had seen on an Instagram reel that I decided I absolutely needed to try. The mousse was rather expensive but it was damn delicious! The sleeping bear was the cutest thing ever and almost too cute to eat!
I took the train for about 30 minutes to this large marketplace called Portobello Road market. The street market was huge and spanned many blocks. The houses on either side were painted in pastel hues. The market is most known for antique shops and vintage clothing but they had almost everything there. The market was extremely crowded and I had to weave through the crowds to try to see as many stalls as possible. I stopped by a man selling the sweetest crate of raspberries that I picked up and a cauliflower goat cheese quiche that I picked up for the road.
I wanted to arrive at the theater 30 minutes early so I had a chance to situate myself, grab a drink, and read the program. I had navigated to the Apollo theater and was looking and looking for the Wicked sign but instead saw the the sign for "For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide when the Hue gets too Heavy". I immediately went cold as I realized I was definitely not in the right spot. I consulted my ticket and realized it was at the Apollo Victoria Theatre not the Apollo Theatre! I immediately ran back to the tube and was zipping up and down the escalators like lightning. You never realize just how big the underground is until you are running late for something. I also appreciated how people kept the left side of escalators free for people who are in a hurry. I was nervous that if I missed the beginning I would not get seated until well into the performance. I made it to the theater sweating with my backpack of clothes for the weekend and they seated me just as the downbeat struck. I missed nothing.
Wicked was amazing! I am actually surprised I hadn't seen it until now. I knew all the music but seeing the music in the context of the story really made it much more meaningful. I was smiling the whole time and singing along in my head. The singers were all very good and I loved that Glinda was an opera singer - it added to the diva-ness of her character. I loved the set of the musical, especially Glinda's little bubble that floated up and down. The set added so much to the whole show with the effects they were able to create. My favorite moment was when Elphaba was lifted up as she sang "Defying Gravity". Wicked made me incredibly happy and made me miss performing so much!
Following the show I finally got to meet up with Paris! It has been nearly 18 months since I last saw him so I was unsure how things would be now. He definitely upped his style game and had grown up quite a bit since. He was much more of a gentleman. It was very nice to catch up with him and hang out with someone familiar! Meeting new people constantly at Maastricht has been quite exhausting. We took a long walk in Hyde park that was very beautiful and serene. The swans were out on the lake and the park was very green with people walking and rollerblading. Paris really wanted tea so we stopped to get boba.
The last of my viral Instagram food places I needed to try was tucked in a market called Mercator Market. The market is a series of small vendors in a former cathedral. It was beautiful inside the cathedral and such a hipster vibe to have a market in a cathedral. The restaurant we chose was Dez Amore which served homemade pasta which they toss in a wheel of cheese before serving. The pasta was divine! We couldn't find seats because it was so crowded so we found a bar table to stand out as we ate our pasta leisurely.
Paris suggested we get a drink somewhere so I let him decide where and we went to a very upscale restaurant that had a cocktail bar called Artisan. The cocktail bar was dimly lit and full of older couples. Someday I will not feel or look like a child, but for today, I did. We spent a lot of time at that bar catching up. It was amazing! The waiter kept bringing us more and more olives and chips to go with our drinks. He ordered the “Right” cocktail which was very strong with Absinthe and I had the “Wrong” cocktail that had vodka and was a little more fruity.
Neither of us wanted to go home but the streets of London were surprisingly dead by 1 am. I had booked a hotel for us in Ealing which was about 30 minutes away by train. I could never have taken the tube that late at night by myself. There were so many drunk people who were so gone we were joking that they would probably end up at the airport.
We made it to my Ealing hotel only to find a very harsh sign on the door stating that check-in was only until 11pm. I had checked earlier in the day because I had a slight feeling about late check-in but there was no info regarding that on the confirmation email I received. My stomach dropped as I realized I would be unable to check in. I was quite literally homeless at that point standing on the porch unsure of what I should do. I called the hotel number to no avail. I looked at hotel availability nearby but there was nothing hence why I had booked this hotel. I would have to go all the way back downtown if I wanted to find a very expensive room but even that was not guaranteed. I am so grateful that Paris was with me. He had been staying in a flat with his mother and I knew from the start staying with them was not an option which is why I booked the hotel. However, now I was desperate. I know he didn't want to ask his mother if I could stay given that they didn't have any other space, but he did. She was very sweet even if it was 2 am in the morning and agreed that one of us could sleep on the floor.
The night couldn't get any more chaotic but it did when we tried to expedite our journey by taking an electric scooter instead of walking 30 minutes. The lime app had me take a whole quiz about how to ride an electric scooter, verify my age with my ID, and worst of all take a drunk test. After getting through all of the screening it wouldn't accept my card so we gave up and decided to walk. We did see a little fox on our walk that scared Paris but I reassured him everything was alright.
Paris's mother was very small and had the cutest blush pink hair. She was so nice and I talked to her for a little while. She remembers me from when Paris came and stayed in Sweden so it was good that she had heard of me before. She was very hospitable and I appreciated her so much. She even made us a lot of food the next morning.
It was truly my most chaotic day so far abroad but I am learning a lot! Especially to double check locations and check in early to hotel rooms. So long London! Although who am I kidding I will likely be back in a heartbeat.
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