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Travel 2017: A Train To Paris: Day Six
Our five days in London had flown by. Still feeling the exhilaration from yesterday’s incredible adventure– we got up, packed, and prepared for the next leg of our journey. We had coffee outside the lobby of St. Pancras, as had become our morning routine, enjoying the bright morning sun and going over our schedule.
After breakfast, I walked the grand staircase, one last time– just relishing the beauty of it. I love St. Pancras. It’s hard to fathom that it barely escaped demolition and is now fully restored.
Sunlight flooding the grand stairs at St. Pancras.
As guests in the historic part of the hotel, we were entitled to VIP service for the Eurostar to Paris at the adjoining St. Pancras International Railway Station. We were met in the lobby and escorted to the station, through customs/immigration– all the way to boarding and stowing our luggage on the train. It couldn’t have been easier.
All aboard! Preparing to leave London on the Eurostar.
Traveling Europe by high speed train is a fast, convenient and inexpensive alternative to air travel. From London to Paris took us two hours and twenty-two minutes. From St. Pancras International, the Eurostar took us through the Channel Tunnel and across the French countryside before arriving at Paris Gare du Nord. The distance is nearly 3oo miles. (By car the trip takes over six hours.)
I’d like to give you a highly romanticized version — riding the rails. Truthfully, from the scenery outside my window, it could have been a train ride anywhere in the world.
The one thing I did notice was for a good portion of the trip, we’d pass a church steeple seeming to stick up out of the fields every few miles. I saw dozens of these and they all looked similar.
Don’t get me wrong– some of the scenery was beautiful– it’s just not unique. I say this for anyone considering the train option purely in hopes of seeing a different world of small villages, farms and sights unique to France.
None of that really mattered to us though– because we were on our way to a new city. We’d be experiencing Paris for the first time.
A view of the French countryside from the train.
We arrived at Paris Gare du Nord and found our driver waiting for us at the end of the track. He escorted us out of the station and drove us to our hotel. Our stay at Hotel Scribe had been arranged through Judy Perl Worldwide Travel that handles the bookings for Playbill Travel. We arrived a day earlier than many of the people going on the Broadway on the Rhone cruise, who were also doing the pre-cruise stay in Paris.
Hotel Scribe, Paris.
After checking with the desk, we had a little time before our room would be ready, so we went for a walk through the neighborhood– part of the 9th arrondissement. Just down the block from our hotel was the Palais Garnier. It’s consider one of, if not the most famous opera house in the world.
The Palais Garnier is the setting and inspiration for Gaston Leroux’s novel, The Phantom of the Opera, adapted into many movies and of course, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular stage musical.
The Palais Garnier, the 1979-seat Opera House completed in 1875.
After a pleasant walk, we returned to the hotel and got settled in. We checked the weather and were trying to decide if we should chance the threat of rain. A storm was rolling in and decided not to risk it.
We heard from our friends, Laura and Cass and met them down in the lobby. After a little catching up, we decided to go to dinner at a cafe/brasserie recommended by the front desk. They got us a reservation and we headed there, just across the street. It was pouring rain!
The restaurant was packed. Capucine Cafe is a lovely little place with great food and plenty of atmosphere. We were seated by the window on the second floor–with a nice view, as the rain continued to flood the street below.
Capucine Café across the street from our hotel.
We had a great time catching up, with our conversation bouncing from topic to topic. Then before heading back to the hotel, we planned our big day ahead. Tomorrow the four of us were heading to Versailles.
Little did we know– it would be a much bigger adventure than we were expecting!
Travel Date: May 18, 2017 (Day Six)
Travel 2017: A Rainy Day in London Town Still Sizzles: Day Five
Our last full day in London was to be a very wet one, start to finish. We’d actually been pretty lucky with the weather– mostly sunny days and temperatures slightly above the norm for this time of year. There was no way we were going to let a little rain dampen our spirits. We grabbed an umbrella and headed out for another busy day.
At The Monument.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London is the world’s tallest isolated stone column. It is most commonly referred to as The Monument. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren, it stands to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666. It’s hard to get a perspective of its size in a picture– so consider that there are 311 steps that go up to a viewing platform at the top.
The Monument to the Great Fire of London.
One of the interesting things we found online before our trip was the Sky Garden in the Walkie Talkie building, 20 Fenchurch Street.
Looking up from the base of 20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the Walkie Talkie building.
The building itself, nicknamed for its unusual shape, is considered by many as “the worst building” in the U.K. Completed in 2014, it has 34 floors, the top three made up of the Sky Garden, bars and restaurants.
The Sky Garden is London’s highest public garden and it offers an uninterrupted, 360 degree view of London. It’s free to visit but tickets are required. It’s highly recommended you reserve them in advance because it is frequently filled.
The Sky Garden has tiered levels for enjoying the spectacular 360 degree views.
Looking out over the Sky Garden.
In spite of the cloudy skies and rain-spattered windows, the views were spectacular. There is an open air observation deck on one side, with rest of the views through large panes of glass.
London from the Sky Garden, 20 Fenchurch Street.
The Gherkin (right) from the Sky Garden.
The River Thames and the 95-story Shard Building on the right.
Looking out at the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.
It started raining again so we took the Tube as close as we could, to our matinee performance of Les Miserables. Why Les Miz? Yes, we’ve seen many professional productions– in NYC and on tour. Maybe even a dozen. BUT we’d never seen it in London– where it all began. AND it’s Michael’s favorite musical.
Les Miserables at the Queen’s Theatre.
Les Miserables has been running continuously in London for nearly 32 years! One fact you may not know, is that the events in the show, occur around the June Rebellion (or The Paris Uprising of 1832) NOT the French Revolution (1789-1799) as many people believe.
At intermission, we both commented that we thought is was way to fast! Now, when Michael agrees that something is too fast– it’s too fast. When we see shows, he’s always saying they could pick up the tempo. Sure, a performance differs from one to the next– but this, apparently, wasn’t a fluke. A friend who saw it two years ago asked if they were still speeding though it.
I found the differences in staging from the original Broadway production interesting. (I’m assuming this is still the original staging.) Some things worked better than others and I could also see why some were changed. All in all, in spite of the pace, we still enjoyed it.
Inside the Queen’s Theatre before the performance of Les Miserables.
It was pouring rain after the show. We headed over to the Savoy Theatre and picked up our tickets, hoping to find a place for dinner nearby. While we were there, we went in the Savoy (Hotel) to check out the lobby.
In the lobby of the Savoy, looking in to the dining room.
We found a place across the street for dinner– appropriately called Eat. We did.
And, yes, still raining.
Our last show this visit– and another one of the reasons we came to London: the musical Dreamgirls.
Last show this trip: Dreamgirls!
A little backstory is necessary. We saw Amber Riley (Glee) was starring in the London production and really wanted to see it. I went to order tickets, front and center, and I had the option of getting the same seats with something called ‘blue box’ for the same price. This said it included a drink and snack. Okay… same price… why not? The tickets were about 80 pounds or $102 USD. At New York ticket prices, it would have been a minimum of $149– probably over $200 because these would be considered ‘premium seats’ — without a ‘blue box’.
I purchase the tickets. Done. Then get a message (after they were paid for, no refunds) that Amber Riley doesn’t perform all the Wednesday night shows! Not happy. Then the show opened in London, won a number of Oliver Awards, including Best Actress (Riley) — so we just kept our fingers crossed. Maybe we’d get lucky.
We get back to the theatre for the show… soaking wet from the rain and they held us at the door. No, clue what was going on. Then the usher tells us we’ve been upgraded to ‘red box’. Huh? We waited until they escorted us to a private lounge where we were given drinks and snacks until we would be escorted to our seats just before the lights went down.
Phone pic inside the Ambassador Lounge.
At the busiest point, there were only eleven people in the lounge and we had two servers. They also held our wet things in a private coat check until after the show.
So why the VIP treatment? No clue! We just kept our fingers crossed that the good luck would continue and Amber Riley would walk out on that stage. Our hostess told us they’d meet us at the interval and bring us back to the Ambassador Lounge for drinks– this was just way too cool.
We took our seats– and I think we both held our breath until Effie walked out on that stage. Exhale. Amber Riley was performing!
All I can say is WOW! Everything about the show was perfect. It was beautiful to look at, full of power and emotion– and every single cast member was amazing. Problems we’ve seen in past productions with pace and flow were nonexistent. Riley stopped the show with And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going and Listen (added to this production from the movie) with her costar during the later.
It was magic.
This Dreamgirls will definitely never leave me.
Sometimes the stars align and everything is right.
Tonight was simply beyond wonderful.
Travel Date: May 17, 2017 (Day Five) Wednesday
Travel 2017: A Day on the Thames-Nature, Art and Angels : Day Four
We started the day at the Tate Modern. This was the one day we’d pretty much scheduled out ahead of time, start to finish, knowing that later, we’d be spending eight and a half hours at the National Theatre. We chose to visit the Tate Modern this morning because of its close proximity to the theatre and we hadn’t explored the South Bank.
Looking up at the former Bankside Power Station, now the home of the Tate Modern.
The Tate Modern hosts a large collection of international modern and contemporary art from 1900 to the present. I didn’t know until after our visit that the building itself was the former Bankside Power Station. This explains its unusual, cavernous design.
It was built by the architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, coincidentally, the grandson of architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott, who built the hotel we were staying in– St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Sir Giles Gilbert Scott also designed the Waterloo bridge and the famous red telephone boxes.
Inside the cavernous entrance of the Tate Modern, the former Bankside Power Station.
The wide variety of artistic styles here, span from late Impressionism to modern sculpture and art in advertising. Overall, I found the museum quite stimulating and well conceived. Even though I find a lot of modern art not to my taste, there were many works and artists represented here for whom I have a great fondness.
Lightning with Stag in its Glare by Joseph Beuys.
Weeping Woman (1937) by Pablo Picasso.
Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937) by Salvador Dali.
One of the gallery spaces inside the Tate Modern.
We left the museum with plenty of time for an enjoyable walk along the Thames. There are many restaurants and shops along the South Bank and quiet little parks as well. This area of the embankment is known as The Queen’s Walk.
A beautiful view of London from the South Bank of the Thames.
The rest of the day was spent at National Theatre’s production of the Pulitzer Prize winning play, Angels In America. The opportunity to see it was the catalyst that brought us to London (prior to our cruise) instead of NYC.
The National Theatre complex.
Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia on National Theme is Tony Kushner’s 1993 play in two parts, entitled Millennium Approaches and Perestroika. It’s an epic journey that explores AIDS and Homosexuality in 1980’s America.
Angels In America.
The National Theatre’s production features impressive performances by Andrew Garfield, Russell Tovey and Nathan Lane, among many others.
We were lucky enough to purchase excellent seats, in a combined event ticket, that included both parts presented in one day. The entire run of the production quickly sold out after going on sale.
Each part also had two intermissions. We had about a two hour break between parts one and part two for dinner, that we spent at a nice restaurant between the theatre and the London Eye. The actual run time, including intermissions (but not the dinner break), was just over eight and a half hours.
The production is incredible. The time flew by. Honestly, the experience is nearly impossible to describe. The revealing (or realization) of the Angel at the end of the first part was pretty ingenious — as frightening as it was beautiful.
I have to say that I cannot imagine seeing Millennium Approaches and Perestroika separately. They are so closely woven and dependent on each other in the scope of the entire piece. This is a historic work– it not only captures a dark moment in history– it is ground-breaking in its structure and form.
When we left the theatre, we entered the misty night air and walked across the Waterloo Bridge to the Tube. We couldn’t help stopping on the bridge and enjoy the wonderful night view of London.
London at night from the Waterloo Bridge.
Travel Date: May 16, 2017 (Day Four)
Travel 2017: London Museums and an American Classic: Day Three
It’s our third day in London and Michael decided he wanted to spend the morning relaxing at St. Pancras. I decided to head over to the British Museum by myself. Michael’s not a huge fan of museums so I was on my own.
The British Museum.
Masterpiece Clock, around 1650, at the British Museum.
British Museum. I arrived at the museum shortly after it opened and the line to get in moved quickly.
Like all the national museums in the U.K., there is no admission fee to get in. Just one of the things I love about London.
There are many museums in this city– most with a particular focus. The British Museum is dedicated to human history, arts and culture or could otherwise be described as hosting antiques, artifacts and relics from different civilizations throughout history.
In grading a museum, I usually prefer a number of things: a balance of what is displayed, the layout of the exhibition space, the way a story is being told, and the ambience of the building itself.
Unfortunately, this was not my type of museum. The British Museum has more than 8 million pieces in its collection and tries to display too many of them at one time.
The galleries are overcrowded with relics in what feels like haphazardly-placed displays, causing each room to be a congested maze. Add the large number of visitors to that and it becomes too claustrophobic.
Compound that– though galleries are loosely sectioned by civilization, types of work, etc. — there is no easy-to-follow story or way to simply navigate through the museum’s collection.
A child’s sarcophagus, probably from Rome, early 200 AD.
I made my way through most of the exhibitions but did so pretty quickly– searching for pieces that might catch my eye. Sadly, I found very little interest here and was more anxious to get out of the crowded spaces so I could breathe again.
I can’t help but make the comparison to searching for a special find at an overcrowded flea market. Michael made the right decision to pass on the opportunity. He would have hated this experience.
In the afternoon, we found ourselves exploring the area of Victoria Embankment. We were on a quest to acquaint ourselves with new areas of London we hadn’t yet explored. It was an enjoyable walk that led us over to Somerset House, one of the places we didn’t have a chance to visit before.
Victoria Embankment.
Courtauld Gallery. Friends of ours had recommended the Courtauld Gallery to us which is located at Somerset House on the Strand. It is a small gallery with an extraordinary collection of Impressionist work.
The Courtauld Gallery.
I absolutely loved it. The collections, the ambience and the display were all handled to perfection.
I think we spent more time here than I did at the mammoth British Museum this morning. Works by van Gogh, Seurat, Monet and Degas were all beautifully displayed.
My big surprise was finding Georges Seurat’s painting, Young Woman Powdering Herself (1888-1890). I have a reproduction at home and have always loved this piece.
Viewing Georges Seurat’s Young Woman Powdering Herself.
If we’d have had more time, I could have easily spent several more hours here. I can’t fully explain it. I found the art here thrilling to behold. I definitely hope to return here again.
Inside the beautifully displayed Courtauld Gallery.
Dancer Ready to Dance, Right Foot Forward by Edgar Degas.
Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait With A Bandaged Ear, 1889.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? One of our most anticipated performances was tonight’s production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe? at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
We couldn’t have been more pleased. Why is it that you have to travel to London to see a truly great performance of an American classic?
It starred Olivier and Bafta award-winning actress Imelda Staunton (Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance); Olivier award-winner Conleth Hill (Game Of Thrones, Stones In His Pockets, The Producers); Olivier award-winner Luke Treadaway (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Fortitude, The Hollow Crown) and Imogen Poots, in her West End debut (A Long Way Down, Jane Eyre and Me And Orson Wells).
Everything about this production is perfect! Director James Macdonald’s vision brings to life a fresh, contemporary production that is the best I’ve ever seen. He has guided the actors into new territory with their original, rich, deeply-layered performances– paying perhaps the greatest tribute to Albee’s dark and disturbing masterpiece.
What a day!
Travel Date: May 15, 2017 (Day Three)
Travel 2017: Gardens, Rock and Robbery: Day Two
The Guard House at Kensington Palace Gardens.
After a good night’s sleep and no noticeable jet lag, we had a quiet breakfast, then headed out for the day.
Our morning target was Kensington Palace and gardens. We already knew tickets for the palace, which included a special new exhibition, had been sold out for months.
Getting off the Tube we came upon Kensington Palace Gardens, which has been called “the most exclusive address in London” and is also known as “Billionaires Row”. There’s a guard house where you enter the street (and no photography allowed) which is lined with palatial mansions– many are the homes of foreign diplomats, or serve as foreign embassies. Prior to being renamed around 1870, the street was known as The Queen’s Road. It was the MI19 center, The London Cage, during World War II and the Cold War.
The beautiful tree-lined street was nearly silent under it’s shaded canopy.
Looking through the ornate gates at Kensington Palace.
This led us to the gardens of Kensington Palace. Not exactly sure where we were headed, we walked towards the palace, then around it, until we found the specific garden we were looking for.
I’d like to note that even if you aren’t touring it, you can still get surprisingly close to the palace, which also hosts a cafe that is open to the public. Last trip, we only saw Kensington from across the green of Hyde Park.
We passed the visitor’s entrance and came upon a maze-like path that wound us around to the Sunken Garden.
Our particular interest was that the garden has been transformed into the White Garden, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. This was one of Diana’s favorite spots and it has been filled with many of her favorite flowers to mark the occasion.
The White Garden will be open to the public through the summer of 2017.
Remembering Princess Diana- The White Garden.
Beautiful arched trellises surround the Kensington Palace Sunken Garden, transformed into the White Garden to honor Princess Diana, 2017.
The Kensington Palace Sunken Garden has been transformed into the White Garden.
At the White Garden.
The Kensington Gardens, covering 242 acres are adjacent to Hyde Park, though crossing over from one to the other goes unnoticed.
Princess Diana Memorial Walk.
We’d visited the other formal gardens on the last visit, so this time we set out in a new direction, down The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk.
As quiet and peaceful as it was, everywhere you looked you’d see joggers, sunbathers, people enjoying family picnics and walking their dogs.
We reached the Long River and in addition to the beautiful swans, we had a great view of artist Henry Moore’s The Arch positioned on the north bank of the river.
Henry Moore’s ‘The Arch’.
We were soon following the Serpentine River, finding many people out boating and even swimming in a public recreation area.
Along the Serpentine River in Hyde Park.
Beautiful plantings throughout Hyde Park.
We had successfully walked the entire length of Hyde Park, reaching the Marble Arch. John Nash, designed the arch as the official state entrance to Buckingham Palace in 1827. The design was partially based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. After years of problems preventing it’s completion, it was finished quickly in time for Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne in 1937. But as Queen Victoria’s court and family quickly grew, it became necessary to build on to the palace, forcing the removal of the arch. It was moved to it’s current location at Cumberland Gate, the northeast corner of Hyde Park, completed in 1851.
The Marble Arch, originally the state entrance of Buckingham palace, moved in 1851.
If all we’d seen wasn’t enough, our day was just beginning, so to speak. It was just early afternoon and we still had two theatrical performances to attend.
School of Rock is a feel-good show for the entire family. A musical stage adaptation of the 2003 film, that starred Jack Black– it stays true to its source. (Michael and I actually just saw the movie again, shortly before our trip.) The show relies heavily on character stereotypes but that works well for this type of show.
This is an Andrew Lloyd Webber production and his theatrical roots have been based in shows with gimmicks. School of Rock’s gimmick is that all the younger performers actually play their own instruments on stage– something the production doesn’t let you forget.
School of Rock, London.
We both really enjoyed it. It’s lively, uplifting– and just plain fun, with a positive message. It also made me ask the question again: Why are young British performers uniformly better than their American counterparts?
We had one of those frequent London come-and-go rains while we were in the matinee. The streets were wet and glistening as the sun quickly returned to brighten the afternoon. We headed over to Piccadilly Circus and picked up the tickets for our evening performance.
Piccadilly Circus after a short rain.
We decided not to eat until after the evening show and spent the little bit of time we had– people-watching and enjoying the street performers scattered around Piccadilly Circus. Michael became particularly captivated by one performer that required audience participation for his act. It was a pretty simple and clever concept– he stood frozen until someone dropped a coin or two in his box and then he would come to life, taking his benefactor and posing them in a variety of positions. He would then add himself to the ‘picture’ with some amusing results.
Here’s Michael becoming part of the act:
Michael gets into the act with a Piccadilly Circus performer.
The Comedy About A Bank Robbery. It’s hard for me to put into words how impressed I am by the creativity and ingenious work done by the Mischief Theatre Company. We saw and loved their production, The Play That Goes Wrong, last September and were excited to see what else they could do.
The Comedy About A Bank Robbery, London 2017.
Going in, I honestly didn’t think I could have been more impressed than I had been with their last one. Minutes after the lights dimmed, I was proven wrong. By the time we reached the interval (intermission), I had absolutely no idea how they were going to get back to the base premise of the show. Hysterically funny, brilliant and thoroughly entertaining!
If you love British farce, slapstick comedy and really creative word play. See this show!
Entering the Tube at Piccadilly Circus.
We’d walked over 8 miles today, enjoyed some of the best parks and shows London has to offer. We couldn’t have asked for a better day!
Travel Date: May 14, 2017 Sunday (Day Two)
Travel 2017: Back ‘Home’ in London: Day One
According to schedule, we landed at Heathrow at 8:30 am and breezed through Customs/Immigration. We had arranged a car service to meet us and whisk us off to our London home away from home, the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. We loved it so much last September, we didn’t even have to think twice about staying here again. The added bonus (this trip) was that they have VIP service to walk you through customs and get you boarded on the EuroStar train we were taking to Paris at the end of our stay.
We pre-checked in and dropped our bags, then had a quick knosh in the Chambers Club before hitting the street for the day. (We knew ahead of time our room wouldn’t be ready.) With tickets to two shows, we figured we wouldn’t actually get into our room until late that night.
Looking out through the magnificent windows of St. Pancras.
We’d made a short list of things we wanted to see in London this trip. Since we were just here last September, we’d gotten the touristy- thing out of the way and felt no rush to cram in a bunch of sites. Plus, with our heavy show schedule, we figured we’d just try and do one thing a day and keep things simple and relaxed.
We didn’t get to spend any time in Trafalgar Square last trip, so that’s where we headed first. The large public area, formerly known as Charing Cross, was named after the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and is anchored by the prominent Nelson’s Column surrounded by statues and fountains.
Trafalgar Square, bustling with activity even with the threat of rain.
The National Gallery is located on the square, but being a Saturday, the lines were quite long so we didn’t try to go in.
There were plenty of artists and street performers entertaining the large crowds of people enjoying the weekend. The wind started to pick up and dark clouds started rolling in suggesting we might be in for a downpour.
The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
A view of London (Big Ben in the background) from Trafalgar Square.
After a bit of people watching, we headed to the far end of the square, towards St. Martin in-the-Fields church and the National Portrait Gallery around the corner.
After watching The Crown recently, I found out the sketches for Graham Sutherland’s commissioned painting of Winston Churchill were on display at the National Portrait Gallery. (Churchill hated the painting, that was commissioned as gift to him– and his wife had the painting destroyed.) What I neglected to find out was the room in which they are displayed is closed for renovation. Maybe on a future visit.
The National Portrait Gallery.
After exploring the neighborhood a bit more, we returned to Trafalgar Square to relax, enjoying the sights and sounds of the city until we needed to head to our matinee show.
Half a Sixpence. Our first show was a matinee performance of the musical, Half A Sixpence. The romantic comedy was originally produced in 1963 (in London) starring Tommy Steele and moved to Broadway (with Steele) in 1965. I saw the 1967 film version many years ago and remembered it as being a lot of fun.
We weren’t disappointed. We both enjoyed this “poor man- inherits fortune- loses fortune- gets the girl” story, thanks to the energetic and extremely talented cast. Charlie Stemp would have made Tommy Steele proud. It was a great start to our London theatre experience.
Half A Sixpence at the Noel Coward Theatre.
The threat of rain gone, the dark clouds had been replaced with sun and beautiful blue skies. We ventured over near Buckingham Palace and revisited the Wellington Arch. It was nice to be able to take our time enjoying the nice spring weather, leisurely, making our way to the theatre nearby.
The Wellington Arch.
We had plenty of time for dinner after picking up our show tickets, so we chose to eat at The Other Naughty Piglet. The restaurant boasts a seasonal menu of small plate offerings. Let me just say– the food here is art. The ham croquettes were to die for! For a place that appears so casual and unpretentious– the food is a culinary masterpiece. I’m no foodie and I seldom write much about our meals. This should be an indication of how impressed I was.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s theatre, The Other Palace. (Until recently, known as the St. James Theatre.)
Whisper House. Our evening performance was Duncan Sheik’s Whisper House at The Other Palace Theatre. Built where the Westminster Theatre stood until fire consumed it in 2002, it was named the St. James Theatre when is opened in 2012.
Andrew Lloyd Webber acquired it in 2016 and it was renamed The Other Palace. There are two smaller theatres in the complex (a 312 seat main stage and 12o seat studio space) which is now dedicated to developing new works.
When I saw Whisper House would be playing, I had to see it. I’m a huge fan of Sheik and his musical, Spring Awakening. I’d say Whisper House is more a play with music than a true musical. It’s basically a ghost story that takes place in a haunted lighthouse during World War II. The show was originally workshopped in San Diego in 2010 and it was co-written by Kyle Jarrow.
The set of Duncan Sheik’s Whisper House, The Other Palace Theatre, London 2017.
It seemed promising at the beginning. Visually, the show was gorgeous. The opening number “It’s Better To Be Dead” is both haunting and glorious. Much of the music is really good– but at as the show progressed, it (the show) seemed to be troubled on a number of levels. The cast seemed to struggle with the material and the stage chemistry between the actors/characters wasn’t always evident. Initially, it appeared that only the ghost characters would be singing the musical numbers as a commentary– but then later it seemed to hinder the show’s progression.
Director Adam Lenson fails to make this production his own. During one song, for no apparent reason, the cast began to physically express themselves (individually) in a way that directly mimicked Spring Awakening. So much for originality. I also felt that overall, the intensity was lacking, causing the show to drag. I didn’t hate it– with work I think there’s some real promise in this piece.
It had been a long day.
We headed back to the hotel to complete check in, unpack and get some sleep. Our heads hadn’t hit pillows since Thursday night (in the U.S.) and I’m surprised we weren’t even more exhausted.
It had been a great first day of vacation. We’d walked over seven miles today, even with taking the Tube. We were ready for some solid rest.
Travel Date: 5/13/17 Saturday (Day One)
Travel 2017: An ‘Awkward’ Travel Day with United Airlines
The first half of the day couldn’t pass fast enough! We were both up early, last minute packing check, I took Belle and Dudley for their boarding/’vacation’ and Michael went in for a half day of work. We’d checked in with the airline and printed our boarding passes the night before.
We were ready.
Everything was on time and Peggy drove us to the airport late afternoon. We went to check our luggage and noticed right away our seats were changed. No big deal– but wait! We weren’t sitting together. Why did this change overnight?
The new seating arrangement was 2-1-2. I was now assigned on the left side, seated by a stranger and Michael was in the single center seat– in what appeared to be business class. Except, we had paid for first class.
It was a full flight and there was no way to change our seat assignments at the kiosk. We tried to get assistance but no one could explain what happened or knew how to fix it. We went ahead and checked our bags and went through security, hoping to fix the situation at the gate.
We have global entry and TSA Precheck…. advantages include: leaving shoes and belts on and you don’t have to take your computer/electronics out of your bag. Well, both of us set off the detector and were stopped for further screening. Michael just had to take off his shoes but I had to wait to be searched. Of course, no one was there to do this and there were five people ahead of me waiting. I went through the x-ray body scanner, got the pat down and then the metal detector wand. It was showing something above my ankle. I had to remove one shoe — yet still it was detecting metal above my ankle– they checked again, then let me through.
We were headed to the desk at our gate when we saw a United Customer Service Center. No help. Beyond the fact that they changed planes, they couldn’t explain why we had been separated and they couldn’t fix it. Actually, after checking his computer and then several minutes on the phone, the rep gave us false information. He tried to claim we were still in first class (we were supposed to believe business class seats, randomly placed, were ‘first class’) and that this was one of the newly renovated planes (it wasn’t). He insisted there was no way we could be seated together.
I fired off a couple Tweets at United. I’d heard of people getting responses in the past so I thought it was worth a try.
No one was manning the desk at our gate yet, so we decided to go to United’s Polaris lounge. They let us in but told us they were full and there would likely be no open seating for at least 40 minutes. The regular United lounge in the terminal was closed and they were apparently letting everyone (‘eligible’) use this lounge instead.
So far, this wasn’t going well.
Luckily, we didn’t wait long before we were able to grab a couple seats. In less than 30 minutes, the lounge was nearly empty. Michael and I discussed our frustration about the flight and I expressed the fact that there was no way I was going to be able to do any sleeping right next to a stranger. An eight and a half hour flight can feel monotonous enough without making it any more uncomfortable.
By the time we were boarding, a United Representative was waiting for us and said they’d try to get someone to move so we could be seated together. We also wanted to know why we being told first class was the same as business (it isn’t). The Rep was very nice, apologetic and said he’d see what he could do.
On the plane, we were able to switch seats and sit together. The Rep checked on us again and confirmed that they had switched our flight from a three class (first, business, economy) to a two class (business, economy) plane. He also apologized for us being given false information regarding the change and said he’d make sure it was addressed. We were now owed a substantial refund.
What makes me really aggravated about this is that 1) we booked this flight months ago; 2) the plane change should have happened before check in; 3) a misinformed customer service rep chose to give us false information as opposed to saying he didn’t have an answer. Thankfully, the customer service rep at the gate was honest and extremely attentive. I felt he did everything he could at that moment to rectify the situation and make us feel like we (the customers) were important (to the company).
Why am I sharing this? Because our experience might help someone else in a similar situation. I think it’s important to try and handle things in the appropriate way. We could have a) taken out our frustration on reps in a rude manner (when it wasn’t their fault); or b) not said anything, letting it fester and put a damper on the the beginning of our adventure. Neither would have resulted in a happy outcome.
United should have been proactive. With the plane change, they should have seated us together and informed us of the change when we checked our bags. They also should have automatically refunded us the difference in the price between first class and business class tickets. Had this been done, the confusion would have been eliminated and we would not have been left to try and figure out what happened ourselves.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful. I watched the movie Allied and was able to get a few hours sleep before we landed.
By the time we reached London, we felt relaxed and were able to put the rocky start behind us.
Now, as long as United issues a refund for the difference in ticket price, I think we’ll be satisfied with the outcome.
Travel Date: May 12, 2017
Travel 2017: An American in Europe
Académie de musique de Paris.
What an adventure!
It’s hard to believe it’s over. A year of planning, researching, and of course, the hardest part– counting down the days. Before you know it– it’s come and gone.
Four days after returning home and I’m a bit jet lagged, my senses are still a little overwhelmed; but most of all, I’m happily content with having completed another whirlwind adventure.
The Basilica in Lyon, France.
In nineteen days, Michael and I managed to visit 16 cities in 3 countries, halfway around the world. We walked over 124 miles, sailed some of Europe’s most famous rivers, experienced the speed of the EuroRail and saw first hand, many historical landmarks that many Americans have only read about in books.
I thought I’d lead off my day-to-day blogging of our adventure with a brief overview.
What can you expect to glean from our adventures? Aside from our personal impressions of the experience itself– I might be able to dispel some of the myths, mysteries and misconceptions about travel and the places we visited.
What do Europeans think of America? Are Parisians really rude? How easy is it to get around a foreign city? How different is the European culture from that in America? What’s different about a river cruise compared with an ocean excursion? Are travel and sightseeing difficult abroad?
Visiting the windmills in Zaanse Schans, Netherlands.
I invite you to join us as we explore London, Paris, Amsterdam and many places in between.
Tours and exploring on our own… food and wine… museums and parks… transportation… the locals… so much to see and do.
You might pick up some travel tips or benefit from our experiences. You might enjoy just going along for the ride. Curious?
Travel with us.
A view of London from Trafalgar Square.
London, Paris, Amsterdam and Broadway on the Rhone
It’s hard to believe this day is finally here! We started planning this trip in February 2016 when Playbill Travel announced their inaugural river cruise. This will be our first as well, while it’s our fourth vacation built around a Playbill Broadway Cruise. This ship, Uniworld’s S.S. Catherine, holds about half the passengers of the Broadway at Sea cruises from the past few years. This cruise actually sold out before it could go on sale to the public.
We weighed some options and building around the cruise, we came up with a pretty exciting trip. Nineteen days in Europe, start to finish. We start with five days in London, then take the Eurostar train to Paris for three days, followed by the Broadway on the Rhone River Cruise and finally three days in Amsterdam before flying home.
So here’s a quick preview of our trip:
London
Having just visited last September, we saw many of the historical places of interest and found how easy it was to get around using the Tube. This time we’re seeing nine shows (yes, nine shows in 5 days) in the West End. We’re staying at the incredibly beautiful, St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel again which connects directly to the Eurostar at St. Pancras International. When we’re not in the theatre, we hope to visit a few of the museums and places we didn’t have time to get to on our last trip.
Paris
Our first time. So many things we’d like to see and do– but we’re keeping our options open so we can focus on enjoying the ambience of the city. Hotel Scribe will be our home base for a few days. We’re definitely making a trip to Versailles, must see the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, we’re seeing the show at Paradis Latin and have a short champagne cruise through Paris on the Seine. I’m really hoping to spend time in the Montmartre district and make a quick visit to the island of Grand Jatte. We’ll probably skip the museums this time and have to plan a longer stay in the future to experience more of what Paris has to offer.
Broadway on the Rhone
Sponsored by Playbill Travel, this Rhone river cruise starts in the south of France and visits: Avignon, Arles, Tarascon, Viviers, Tournon/Tain L’Hermitage, Macon and Lyon. World renowned sommelier Jean-Luc le Du will be on board, sharing his love and knowledge of the wines, cheese and chocolates of the region. Evenings will feature entertainment by Broadway veterans Rebecca Luker, Paulo Szot, Liz Callaway and James Barbour, accompanied by Grammy and Emmy Award winning Music Director, John McDaniel.
Amsterdam
At the top of my bucket list of places to visit has always been the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. We’ve already booked our tickets. We also booked a half day trip to Zaanse Schans, Voldendam and Marken in the Dutch countryside. Windmills anyone? There are also several museums and a canal cruise we hope to enjoy, not to mention the necessary stroll through the infamous red light district, known around the world. I think we’re too late for tulips but you never know!
I’ll be posting what I can, when I can on social media as well as blog posts of our daily activities– though they may be posted later, depending on time and Internet availability. I hope some of you will follow along– join us on our journey!
Dreaming of Versailles and a Sunday in THE Park
We considered it, dismissed it, then couldn’t ignore it. I was dreaming about it.
Beautifully sculpted gardens, manicured lawns and bubbling fountains– surrounding an expansive, palatial wonderland full of historic, architectural detail and dusted with gold gilding.
This is the Château de Versailles.
Dreaming about a place is one thing– actually visiting and experiencing it is something else entirely. There’s nothing as magical as feeling an undeniable connection to a place.
First Visit
We’ll only be in Paris a few short days and it’s the first visit for both Michael and I. There are so many incredible things to see and do in Paris. Where do we begin? In the initial planning stage for our visit, we did our research, made lists and talked to friends. With so many options, we finally made what we decided was the best decision for us: Experience the city itself and find our own connection– feel it’s vibe. Our visit will be less about the individual attractions and more about the overall ambience the city has to offer.
Dreaming of Versailles
A few months ago, Michael and I watched the first season of the Netflix series, Versailles.
Louis XIV’s love and nurturing of art, elegance, beauty and architecture inspired the world. Versailles was his dream. A stunning palace that stands as a tribute and glowing example of 18th century French art. At 28 years old, Louis set out to build the greatest palace in the world.
Suddenly, it became all too clear that we had to visit Versailles. I was dreaming about it. This was the type of connection I was looking for– and it made the rest of our Paris planning more clear.
Instead of seeing a lot of historic places because, well, we had to; make the experience personal to us. Enjoying it rather than rushing to see everything we possible can. Granted, we will still see more than most people probably would in three days time– it’s just our own approach completely changed.
A Sunday in the Park
Going all the way back to my childhood, Georges Seurat’s painting, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884) has influenced my life. The musical Sunday in the Park with George, later became one of my all time favorites. But long before the musical, I spent hours in a classroom, staring up at that painting– wondering who those people were.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Georges Seurat, 1884. (Photographed: August 2014)
Flash forward– years later– In my college art classes, I spent a lot of time focused on Seurat and his work. Then in my senior year, I drove overnight to Chicago to see Goodman Theatre’s production of Sunday in the Park with George. I had a profound connection to the piece. After college, I had the opportunity to play George in an ill-fated theatre company’s production, that ended up being cancelled, with the demise of the company. Sadly, a near miss.
And one last connection– my biggest audition as an actor– for the second national touring company of Into the Woods— I sang George’s song Finishing the Hat from Sunday. I didn’t get cast but the director had me sing way beyond my chosen 16 bars– so I must have done something right.
A Must
When it hit me, I was surprised I hadn’t already considered it. Just recently, it dawned on me that of all the places I really would connect with in Paris– I had to at least try and visit Île de la Grande Jatte. It’s very different from Seurat’s time. There’s very little park there now. It’s mostly a developed suburb, part of an upscale commune at the gates of Paris. And, (I had decided) if I was going to do it– it had to be on Sunday. It might be possible but that Sunday morning is the day we leave for our Rhone river cruise. I think it’s doable, though we haven’t been given the departure schedule yet. The island could take up to 45 minutes to reach. So if we’re up early and on our way, we should be able to make it, even if it’s a very short visit. Our friends George and Mary said they’d be up for the adventure. That makes it perfect because then it can truly be ‘A Sunday in THE Park… with George’.
Hopefully the stars will align. Dreams happen. Weather and time permitting… I’ll be there.
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