Tuesday, August 28
Double decker bus tour - Laurie and I went on the bus tour together. We were hoping that it would serve to orient us a little bit, but no such luck - it only made us quite hopelessly confused, since it kept going in circles and doubling back on its path. But it was still really interesting, and the guide was fun! The ticket also included a cruise down the Thames, so we took that from the Parliament Buildings to the Tower. It wasn't as nice as the Seine cruise, but fun anyway!

"Jack the Ripper" walk - Lots of people had told me how good these walks were, and Laurie was interested in this one in particular, so we went! It was pretty interesting, especially because I didn't know much about it before. And I got to see some of East London that I wouldn't have gone to otherwise!

Brit-pop club - Laurie found this place, called "Camden Palace", that she wanted to go to, so we went! The music was not all that great, but at least now I can say that I've been to a club in London. :-)

Wednesday, August 29
Westminster Abbey - For anyone interested in English history, this stop is a must, and I thought it was fascinating. The audio guide was really good, and as I went first thing in the morning, the crowd wasn't too bad, so I got a really good look at everything. Just a word of advice though - don't go too near the exit with the audio guide. Trust me.

Phantom of the Opera - The show was very good, and I enjoyed the cast quite a bit, with the exception of Madame Giry, who had some really strange accent that didn't make any sense. Deborah Dutcher as Christine was alright, though she appeared to have spent her time perfecting one facial expression and decided to use that for the entire show. John Owen-Jones was a decent Phantom, and yes, I did cry, but only at the very end, with his "Christine, I love you". I quite enjoyed Matt Cammelle as Raoul - especially as he changed my least favourite line in the entire show. :-) There were a few small differences from the productions I'm used to - primarily that they still use the trio in the graveyard scene, and that there is a different verse in "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again". Overall I quite enjoyed it, and am glad that I went!

Thursday, August 30
Buckingham Palace - Laurie and I went here very early, and really enjoyed the tour. It was quite a different experience than going to Versailles or Schönbrunn, as Buckingham Palace is still in use. The state rooms were really lovely!

St. Paul's - I had thought the Berliner Dom in Berlin was the most ornate Protestant church I'd ever seen - that was before I went to St. Paul's. :-) It is just splendid. And, of course, we had to climb the domb!

Madame Tussaud's - Laurie and I had entirely too much fun here. :-) Although, it would have been a lot more fun if it had been less crowded! We took lots of silly pictures with us and wax figures of people - Laurie got some with Jerry Springer, Brad Pitt, Indiana Jones, James Dean, Whoopi Goldberg, Mary Queen of Scots, the Beatles, and more I can't think of right now, while I went and posed with Michael Jackson, Elvis, Henry VIII and his wives, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Mozart as a child, the Pope ... I think that might be it. Anyway, there was then the Horror chamber, and the "Spirit of London" ride, which I'd heard such good things about, but I thought it was actually quite cheesy.

Peggy Sue Got Married - This is one of Laurie's favourite movies, so I felt quite sure we would all enjoy it. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. It is definitely one of my least favourite shows ever. The music really didn't do much for me, and I found the songs didn't further the plot at ALL. Ruthie Henshall was pretty good, although she kept slipping back to her normal voice from the American accent she was trying to have. Tim Howar (the main reason I wanted to see the show) was excellent, of course. He has a really small role, but one main song. If you've seen the movie, he plays Michael, the motorcyle-riding one that she sleeps with. He had quite a big dance sequence as well, which was really good! But overall, the show was just not very exciting, and we all kind of felt like we wasted our money and our evening.

Friday, August 31
British Library - This was really cool - original scores by Handel, Beethoven, Bach, etc, a first edition Shakespeare folio, Jane Eyre in Charlotte Bronte's hand, and much, much more. I couldn't stay quite as long as I would have liked, but I had a quick look at everything!

British Museum - Again, I didn't have a whole lot of time here, but I took a quick look through some of the Egyptian gallery, and through the early European stuff. I will definitely have to make a return trip here!

National Portrait Gallery - We spent longer here than I thought we would. :-) Amanda and Laurie came with me, and it was really neat to see pictures of all the people I've read about in history books. Laurie and Amanda were more interested in the contemporary portraits, which were really interesting as well.

Starlight Express - This was a lot of fun, and it's on a much bigger scale than I had imagined! Laurie and I had great seats, and the cast was good, though we had an understudy for Rusty. We also had a cast substitution at intermission, which has never happened to me before!

Saturday, September 1
Tower of London - I went to the Tower VERY early, and was one of the first ones there. That was great, because I got to be all alone in the room with the Crown Jewels, which is usually such a terrible crowd! I also toured the White Tower (awesome!!), the Bloody Tower, the Medieval Castle, and more. I could have easily spent a lot more time there! I think it was probably my favourite thing that I saw in London!

Museum of London - This was such a great museum! The displays are really interesting. I was a little disappointed that the section from 1789 to the present day was undergoing renovations, but what I did see was great!

Notre Dame de Paris - I enjoyed this show, but it wasn't all that I had hoped it would be. I found the stage felt cold, and the absence of a live orchestra is a huge drawback. Also, the English translations of the original French lyrics were really clumsy at times. The cast was very good though, especially David Shannon as Gringoire!

The Beautiful Game - It was *wonderful*. I really, really enjoyed it, and I was going in expecting quite a bit! I'd have a tough time deciding whether this or Elisabeth was my favourite show of the trip. And it was really cool because it was the closing night, so Andrew Lloyd Webber was in the audience! Unfortunately I didn't see him, but it was really neat to just know he was there!