London: Evening Entertainment

Arriving in a city like London and not having any plans can be both overwhelming and freeing at the same time. On our first day, we noticed a bus with an advertisement for a play with 3 well-known actors including 2 from quite possibly our two favorite TV shows right now. Kunal Nayyar (Raj from Big Bang Theory), Alfie Allen (Theon from Game of Thrones) and Jesse Eisenberg (Lex in recent Batman vs Superman). We got really excited, so Jimmy checked and was able to get us fifth row seats for the Wednesday performance!! We got all dressed up for the show and went out to a nice dinner beforehand.

The Spoils was the name of the play, and it was written byJesse Eisenberg. We knew absolutely nothing about the plot going in, but as you can see, we were stoked to watch a live performance with famous actors in close seats.

 

We thought all the actors did a fantastic job. They played similar roles to their TV/movie personalities. Jesse played a bit of an eccentric, artsy millennial going through a difficult time. Kunal portrayed his Nepalese friend who was just an all-around caring individual that didn’t have the best game with women. And Alfie’s character was a financial analyst that studied at Duke. I could totally see Theon from Game of Thrones being a Dookie if he lived in our world today. We really enjoyed the play and were happy to have found this gem for some great evening entertainment.

For another evening out, we were so fortunate to get to see a familiar face to start our journey and be treated to a night on the town like a local.  Julie and I played volleyball together at UNF, and she now lives in London.  She and her boyfriend Jeff took us out for dinner and drinks.  We started at their private club called Home House with some delicious passion fruit martinis with a shot of champagne on the side.

We had dinner at a great little place in Marylebone called Blanford Contoir

So fun to hear travel stories and get tips from them as they both are experienced business travelers that have been all over the world.  Julie has already given us great advice for our past trips to Cape Town and Paris.  I really enjoyed catching up with a college friend after so many years, and we appreciated the opportunity to discuss current events and see London through the eyes of a local.

After the first week, we still had a few things on our to-do list. The London Eye wasn’t high on the list as it seemed a bit expensive and touristy. However, after reading good reviews and having no plans on an evening with perfect weather, we decided to go for it. We can now say that we rode one of the largest ferris wheels in the world. And it did offer fantastic views of the city

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey (and Big Ben)

Our temporary home, the Strata building

And the highlight of Big Ben and the Parliament buildings.

On our last evening in London, we were wandering around Shoreditch and came upon a hipster bar/eatery/summer party at City Summer House.

This place was awesome. The DJ was spinning a crazy mix of old 90s and 2000 hip hop with some reggae and today’s hits.

We relaxed on the turf lawn while enjoying a lychee martini and Pimm’s cup.

If we had been hungry at the time, there was a wide assortment of international cuisine pop-up stands to choose from.  Standing at the bar waiting for a drink, I started thinking that I actually didn’t know what Pimm’s even was. As I was about to ask Jimmy, I saw a bottle of Pimm’s on the counter that gave me my answer.

I guess nobody knows!!

After living in Boston for a year, some friends asked if I had picked up the Boston accent. To me, it wasn’t very addictive to pick up. Now, the British accent on the other hand, after only 10 days I’m already thinking in the British accent. I could see myself like Lily on How I Met Your Mother, if there are any fans of the show out there that saw that episode, pretending I have a great, natural accent. One of the billboard signs in London cracked me up. It was an ad for Vegas, “Go where your accent is a natural aphrodisiac”. Well played Brits.