Linda got the full English breakfast (minus the blood pudding) and I got two soft boiled eggs with soldiers (the thin cut bread to dip in my eggs). I was facing the kitchen and was fascinated how everything was delivered on a silver tray, even if it was just a cup of coffee. Linda faced the restaurant and was struck by the beauty of the place.
After breakfast we had an hour to kill so we went to Fortnum and Mason’s main store. The ground floor was all chocolates, specialty teas and coffees and very upscale and expensive Easter candies.
Then we walked through the Burlington Arcade, a chandelier lit indoor walkway with stores selling Rolexes, diamond jewelry, expensive handbags…everything Linda and I did not need but it was an interesting stroll. We did notice that these high end stores did not seem to have customers and all the employees were scrolling on their phones.
We walked through Green Park, alive with daffodils, towards Buckingham Palace.
We sat on the edge of the fountain near Buckingham Palace and did some people watching as the rain began.
I love to take photos of pigeons sitting on the heads of statues and there was plenty of opportunities for me to delight myself.
Our next stop was the Evan Evan’s Afternoon Tea Bus. For 90 minutes we toured London with a live guide while we were served tea, sandwiches, scones, desserts and prosecco. By the time we were loaded into our premium seats at the front of the double decker bus it was full on raining. We didn’t have a photo worthy tour but we did have a full one London experience.
Every time the bus stopped the rain would pour off the front of the bus, down the windows in front of us. It made me giggle every time.
Our guide was excellent. We sipped our drinks and enjoyed our scones with jam and clotted cream while we learned to know the two women from Atlanta who were seated across the aisle. While they were on the bus they switched their tickets from “Six” to “Magic Mike”. Hmmm….
We took the Tube back and arrived at our hotel in the rain, glad to be able to relax and unwind. We were too full for dinner so we left the hotel just in time to woke to the Noel Coward Theatre to see “Dracula.”
The whole idea of coming to London originated with the idea of seeing Cynthia Erivo play all 23 parts of in this play. How would it be done? The set was just a dark stage with a large screen.
We had heard that this production would be techno-driven but what would that mean? I assumed that there would be portions of the play in which Erivo was off stage and we were watching the screen. No. Erivo was on stage the entire 2 hours (without an intermission). There were three camera operators with her on stage as she interacted with herself on the screen. The screen moved up and down and front to back depending on whether a vampire was flying or we were in a graveyard or she was interacting with three other characters (all of which were her). I can’t begin to describe the genius of what we saw. I can’t even make sense of how they accomplished the effect. Throughout the play someone would come on stage to quickly and masterfully have her change from one outfit to another, moving seamlessly from male to female characters. Depending on what voice she used or what color she was wearing we always knew who she was portraying. The program listed cast: Cynthia Erivo. The list of lightning, camera work, voice coach, etc was long. There was even a nail specialist because Cynthia Erivo’s fingernails are her signature look. I tried to think of any other actor/actress who could pull off what we saw tonight. I couldn’t come up with one. She was exquisite in all 23 roles. I wonder if I will ever see another play quite like this one.
On the way back to our hotel we stopped at Wagamama for some light Asian bites. Another amazing choice. It has been another wonderful day.
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