UK Day 1-2
May 15th, 2014 by Ashley
4/19 arrived in LHR
At immigration, the officer asked the purpose of our visit. Remembering what happened the last time I visited UK (the officer asked me the same question and I answered “traveling”…), I replied “sightseeing.” He asked me what we planned to do, and I thought, “I’m glad you asked!” and pulled out my detailed, color coded itinerary.
He actually went through the whole thing and asked me (out of curiosity) about the items he couldn’t make out. At the end, he said, “I guess this is how one should do London.”
(Daniel called me a showoff. lol)
After checking in at LSE, we went out to the pub where it’s said to be the birth place of FA. I thought for sure we could watch the Chelsea match there. But nope. For some reasons, they were not showing any football that weekend. Probably because it was Easter. But how bizarre. I decided not to drag Daniel through town just so that we can find a pub to watch the match (I’m sure there are plenty, but I don’t want to risk crappy food.) We ended up at The Cambridge, a cute little pub Alysia recommended. (There’s supposed to be a auto-rising urinal outside of the place according to her, but we did not find any.) The fish and chips was decent but I was sad that they were out of sticky toffee pudding.
We walked around Leicester square a bit before we headed to the theatre. The Weir was interesting, but I was already very sleepy so I missed a big chuck of the story.
4/20 Still tired, weather was poop.
We were going to watch the Chinese Grand Prix at a sports bar nearby, but we eventually opted for the free breakfast at LSE.
It was a gloomy day and National Gallery was already packed at 10:30. Everything added up to poopy moods. We escaped the crowds in National Gallery and got to the Camden Markets (smart huh?) It was infested with people as well and the rain got heavier.
We were cold and by no means in the mood to check out fun stuff at the market. After having some curry, we headed back to LSE.
I was not happy because the trip was supposed to be puuuurrfect.
Fortunately, the next stop on our itinerary, as you can see, was The Drown Man. It’s another, and the biggest, one of PunchDrunk’s production of immersive theatre, in collaboration with the Royal National Theatre! The story took place in sunny California and set in a building which was previously the Royal Mail sorting office. I knew at least we wouldn’t be wet.
The Drowned Man was fun, but nothing can top Sleep No More in my mind. The creepiness of Sleep No More scared the beehoogies out of me but at the same time that was what made it so unforgettable. I guess nothing can really compare with the first experience of something new. However, I did enjoy the musical bits in The Drowned Man greatly. For me, the Drowned Man is not as heavy and not as complicated, and therefore not as memorable. I do wish that we had more time to explore. The set is way bigger than that of Sleep No More; however, we were starving so we couldn’t even enjoy a drink at the night club.
We got out of Temple Studio and it was still light!
hover to see food photos!
Stepping into Momo was like being transported into another world, an exotic one. I love Momo. Not just because it’s called Momo. The ambiance, the decor all help setting the right mood for the meal. And they have some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had!
My lamb tagine was heavenly and Daniel’s dish was not bad either.
Everything finally seemed promising again. :)