i very was very excited to see David Tennant in Don Juan of SoHo tonight, and arrived at the Wyndham Theatre suitably early after a delicious dinner at Patara.

how odd that when i arrived to the theater the House Full sign was out front and the hordes of people usually milling about before a show were nowhere to be found. “hurry” the doorman said to me, “they may not let you in!” what?? how can that be, i’m SO early.

well, had i been there last night, the night my ticket was actually for, i would have been early, but tonight was Press Night, start time at 7 PM, and the show…..SOLD OUT.

shit.

i’m only here for one more day with an evening event tomorrow and there isn’t a matinee. how did i mess this up?? it’s David Tennant. F&#@!!

jetlag? no theater on Mondays in the states? kept thinking during the entire trip Tuesday the 27th? whatever the reason, i found myself in a lobby of a sold out show, with an outdated ticket. nobody’s fault but my own. sigh. so i made a joke to the box office about my monetary contribution to London theater, while trying not to cry, and headed out.

i tell my sad little story to the doorman in front of the theater, we have a good laugh and i start to cross the street to find a glass of something before i head back to the flat. i’m half way across when i think, maybe, just maybe, they will have a seat at intermission i could take……not all the press could possibly show up.

i smile and ask the nice doorman if he thinks i could get in at intermission. he says to check inside, they’d have to answer that question. i go in and walk to the box office where two smiling people greet me and hand me a ticket. really?! for me?!  awesome!

i was in the balcony, not the orchestra and i had to stand the first half, but who cares….i was in!

thoroughly entertaining show.  i liked the adaptation, and it was well acted. David Tennant made a good Don Juan, terrific timing, although i had a hard time separating him from the Doctor at times. i’m sure that will be the case in any role he takes. side note, why didn’t he play Hedwig?? anyhow, good cast, Stanley was excellent, good use of multimedia and some cool effects, wasn’t crazy about the set, musical numbers were fun and choreography was fine, over all nothing spectacular, not a must-not-miss show, but i saw it, and that’s what counts.

a BIG thank you to the lovely Wyndham Theatre box office staff for being very kind to a usually overly organized, well planned (but not tonight) tourist.

image courtesy of londontheatre.co.uk

it was Mother’s Day in the UK today, so the streets were crowded lots of flowers and mother daughter combos.  made me wish my Mom was with me, so we could have had overpriced brunch and gone shopping.

i spent the day not doing a whole lot. slept in, did laundry and had a coffee. took a nap, had another coffee and ventured out into the world.

the world contained a great attempt to help the Oxford Street economy, but alas, it was not my day to buy.  i then went for a massage and had a tasty crepe before heading back home.

the massage was pretty wonderful, although i think there might be bruises appearing tomorrow.  i went to Spa & Massage right around the corner from the flat. i wish i had found it sooner so i could go again!

it was a gorgeous day, so i decided to walk to the Chelsea Farmers Market to meet a friend for lunch.  it was about an hour walk and seemed easy enough until my phone stopped mapping.

i had made it about half way when my phone screen stalled and my map was gone. did I have a paper map with? no, of course not. there was a major road ahead, so i figured i’d go that way and see if  i could reconnect with my phone, or connect with a human.

when i got to the street i noticed it was closed due to a large protest. not ideal when you’re trying to walk across the town, but good if you’re trying to find someone to give you directions. hello officer, could you please help me, i’m a little lost.

i was directed to the tube station (walking today was not advised by the nice police officer), and a short walk, three trains, and another short walk later, i found the restaurant in the market (which was in a parking lot) and met my friend, and his friends.

the rest of the day was lovely….a sunny day, a glass of rose, a delicious pastry, shopping on Kings Road, stop in at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a little walk through the V&A Museum, a glass of white at a pub and we finished with an Italian dinner at Mona Lisa.

hopefully tomorrow will be just as much fun!

my colleague and i decided to hit the Borough Market today and managed to miss being in the middle of chaos by minutes.

we were crossing the Jubilee Bridge by the London Eye when an absurd number of police were seen across the way on the Westminster Bridge…..helicopters, emergency vehicles, the works.  since we work on Market St. in SF and sirens are an everyday occurrence, we continued on our way to the market, where we enjoyed a delicious grilled cheese and hot apple cider.

it wasn’t until later we saw the report of the tragic events at Parliament. scary to think had we been one bridge over things could have turned out very different for us this afternoon.

my heart goes out to all those families affected.

it sounds like a children’s book doesn’t it?  i haven’t been to London since 2015, but i’m back now, for the next 11 nights.  this is a work trip, and since we’re here for so long we’ve rented a flat instead of staying at a hotel, just to be a bit more comfortable, plus it will save money.

i originally went to VRBO and Airbnb for a flat rental, but then came across a site called the Plum Guide.  it’s like the other sites, but they take it one step further with personal customer service.  we wanted to be walking distance to the office, didn’t want to be in the middle of party town and needed enough space for two.  the very nice person at the PG provided me with three options, and we ended up booking a two bedroom flat in the Fitzrovia district.

so far so good.  a nice manager called Ellie met me at the flat and got me situated, and rang the taxi driver for me when i realized i had left my mobile in the taxi.  whoops. thank you Ellie.  the flat is as pictured, well appointed and certainly well situated. also, the couch is perfectly acceptable for a nap.

post nap there was some coffee and a bourbon, i know….counteracting beverages, but you can’t have a coffee for cocktail hour, that isn’t right.  shortly we’ll venture out for some dinner, and then i’m just hoping i can stay up till 9 PM.  i feel if i can make it until 9 PM and sleep at least until 6 AM i’ll be in good shape.  i’ll get back to you about that.