Saturday 24th July
Setting off from Stockport station on the train down to London was a slow and slightly disconcerting journey. Soon after we'd pulled out of Stockport we stopped on the tracks and an announcement came on saying there were some problems with the train and that engineers were coming to have a look. It clearly wasn't good because after resetting the train, and turning the lights on and off a few times, we were told we would have to get off at Crewe and get another train. After doing so, and getting to London an hour late, we hot-footed it to the hotel. We checked in, changed and went out to dinner and the theatre. Our waitress commented that we ate very fast - I almost told her that the portions, although delicious, were hardly huge.
We walked down the road to the Queen's Theatre, where we had tickets for 'Les Miserables'. As we arrived we saw a sign which informed us that Nick Jonas' run as 'Marius' had been extended for two weeks and so this night was his last. This news was met with squeals of excitement from every girl under fifteen and Claire, and looks of confusion from everyone else. I won't go into detail about the play because you need to go and see it if you haven't, but I will say that it was rather depressing and I left with tears streaming down my face. However it doesn't take much for this to happen and so most people would be fine, if slightly saddened. (There was also a very empowering moment when I nearly stood and started marching and singing along) All in all I would highly recommend it - it's pretty amazing.
The next day was sunny and warm, and we began early with a quick walk across to St. Pancras and Kings Cross train stations. At Kings Cross we made our way (very excitedly in my case) to platforms 9 and 10, only to find we needed a ticket to cross the barrier. After explaining to the ticket man that we were looking for platform 9 3/4 he told us to go round the corner to where 'the Harry Potter bit' was. Eventually we found the wall with a 'Platform 9 3/4' sign on it and part of a luggage trolley sticking out of it as if magically going through the barrier. This immediately called for photos to be taken. Once I had finished retelling all the scenes which took places on the train platform we caught the tube to Camden.
We spent several hours happily wandering around the world famous market and soon realised that most dress, poster and jewellery stall sold the same dresses, posters and jewellery as the next. A second important thing to note is that you can get a free lunch by hovering around the many food stands, looking as though you're tempted but can't quite decide what to have. This will inevitably make the people selling the food offer you 'Free tasters?' and this if how you get lunch. It is mostly different varieties of spiced chicken nugget, but by walking back and forth you can get a few pieces. There are about twenty stalls selling different world cuisines, and I wanted every single one.
Picadilly Circus was next, so we hopped on a tube to Leicester Square and walked down to Picadilly, after I had re-lived meeting Mr Depp outside the Odeon, much to the confusion and probably fears of nearby people. The walk to Picadilly Circus was a bit odd in that we didn't realise we were there until we were in the middle of it all. After some more photos we walked to Trafalgar Square and had a snack by the Thames and Big Ben. The evening was spent repacking and checking everything was sorted for Paris.
No comments:
Post a Comment