I'm going to the Zoo, Wicked and Greenwich...how about you??

On Friday evening I met up with Kylie and Anna who I met when in Turkey/Egypt. We met in Camden Town and walked to London Zoo, which was open from 6-10pm as a special 'Zoo Lates' for 18 years +. I managed to get vouchers online for it, so it cost us just £9 for entry instead of the usualy £22.50 - so I was quite pleased about that! On arrival it was relatively quiet, the animals were all settling down for their night-time routines - whilst there were many people who were staring at them and taking photos as they were trying to get ready for bed... it can't be easy being an animal at the Zoo! It was quite cool being there at night time, and so strange to be at the zoo when there were no children! 

Yeah, it's a bear alright!

That's right, children. If you feed the monkeys, your eye will pop out.

There was entertainment all over the zoo, some nice music which we were able to sit and chill to as we drank a jug of Pimm's.

Yep, that's me, chillin' - drinking Pimm's.

 There was a silent disco which was *hillarious* to watch. Basically you pay £5 which is refundable and are given a set of headphones, and you dance to the music. For people on the outside, looking in, this of course is rather entertaining. It was PACKED by about 9pm. 

The silent disco... it's heating up now!

We were enjoying the entertainment, and saw a large crowd gathering so went to check it out. Imagine our surprise when we saw this image below... 

Umm? Despite it being an R18 event... it felt wrong to see a stripper at the Zoo!

HAHAHAH! It is an 18+ evening for a reason. It just seemed *wrong* to have a stripper in the Zoo?! We laughed -and I took a photo (for the blog) much to Kylie's embarrassment. 

There were numerous food stalls, (some with rather funny names...) 

Tee hee

Although - once we went in search of food, we were all so hungry that we basically chose the first thing we saw. This worked out well for Kylie and I, who had Chorizo/Hummus and Holloumi/Hummus wraps respectively. It didn't work out so well for Anna, who felt like 'a dirty old burger'. Not only did the chicken burger that she chose hardly had any meat, but she was basically handed a bun with a chicken patty in it and told to assemble it herself with the salad/sauces. And she didn't enjoy it one little bit. In fact, she very quickly had 'wrap envy'. It got worse... because we ended up walking around some more after we had eaten and saw there were about 15 other food stalls we could have chosen to eat from. We did manage a cupcake for desert which made Anna's night. That, and the Pimm's. All in all, we can approve of the Zoo at night time. 

Om Nom Nom! And they were pretty too!

But make sure that if you go - to check out ALL the food stalls. We were all disappointed that the 'Penguin Disco' that was advertised was not in fact a bunch of penguins dancing to techno music. Just penguins. Hanging out together on some land. Good company that night, though :)

Myself, Kylie and Anna :) Anna didn't list to the instructions and lost a finger. Sad. 

On Saturday morning, Seun and I queued up at Victoria's Apollo Theatre to get front row seats to see "Wicked". I went and saw this show when I was really sick, back in February. It was at the time I had lost my voice completely, and Mum suggested that being I couldn't work, I might as well make the most of my days off. I remember not enjoying Wicked very much at all, and feeling disappointed. I felt at the time it was too long and I wasn't sure about the story. I also recall that I spent most of the time trying to suppress my coughing fits... so now I think about it I can appreciate why I didn't enjoy the show the first time. Last night? It was AMAZING. Awesome effects, great costuming and set - and a fantastic story of values throughout.  I loved the clever references to "The Wizard of Oz" which were there- but not too in your face. Gar-linda was awesome... so very funny, such a great role she gets to play. We had the understudy to Rachel Tucker, Nikki Davis-Jones, as Elphaba, who was fab! Great stage presence and voice. I also decided I love the songs - very cleverly written lyrics. I did buy the soundtrack last time I went as I felt disturbed that only two songs were memorable, so this time I knew most of the lyrics which helped. It was frustrating that Hannah (who was sitting with me, Seun got the last ticket for the front row so was down below!) and I were sitting in front of a row of teenage girls who clearly were not overly interested in the show. They talked their way through it, and at half time leaned over and asked one of the theatre staff 'How much longer is this play going for?'. Hic hmmm? Play?? Oh dear. Kill me now. She's lucky she didn't get a thick lip!


After the show, Seun and I waited by the stage door so that Seun could get the autographs of the leads. What baffled me was how *lovely* they all were, even though they had done two shows that day and must have just wanted to go home, they were all smiley and actually taking the time to stop and have conversations with people which I was quite impressed with. I am in love with Fieyero - hot much?? And boy, can he dance. He was nice to look at up close too. Seun wasn't impressed when I said I could easily follow him home - I saw which way he went haha! The girl who understudied for Rachel Tucker as Elphaba was really lovely, she talked to us a fair bit and even told us that she wasn't sure if 'the lift' would work (she raises up and flies during Defying Gravity - naturally!) so she was quite nervous. It was quite cool to see the cast 'in the flesh' after the show, very cool indeed. 

Hello Mark Evans. (Fiyero)

Oh, that's just me and Nikki (Elphaba)

WiCkEd!

Today I decided to make the most of the day and hopped on the train, destined for Greenwich. I have wanted to go for a while as I have heard there is heaps to see and do, and it is a really nice area. I arrived at about 1pm and walked around the Greenwich Market, which was fantastic - a little like Spitalfields near Liverpool Street, but a bit smaller. The foods on offer were fantastic and the little stalls had heaps of really nice trinkets. It is hard now, as I am no longer buying anything unless it is a necessity (theatre tickets, if you are wondering, are considered a necessity!) so I didn't buy anything from there, but it has to be said that London Markets are quite fun to just wander around. Even by yourself! 


I read in my little London book that a student, Lucy, got me for Christmas last year and saw that Greenwich has the 'Cutty Sark' ship, so I thought I'd check it out. When I got there - I saw this. 

A sad sight, indeed :(

Disappointment. Apparently there was a fire in 2007 and they have been restoring it ever since - it reopens in Spring 2012. Some random facts about the Cutty Sark include the fact that she is the epitome of the great age of sail, she is the only surviving clipper, and the only tea clipper in existence (that's pretty cool!), 15 million people have come on board to learn about her (wow!) and she was preserved in Greenwich, partly as a memorial to the men of the merchant Navy, especially those who lost their lives in both World Wars. I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to go on board, but never mind... I will be back here at some point. I missioned onwards and walked around the Painted Hall, which, as I found out today, was a film location for one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies!  

Weeeeee! That's Captain Jacks outfit!

What an incredible building, so beautifully painted and so well preserved! I can imaging a huge banquet taking place back in the day. I loved the paintings on the ceiling and the walls, just incredible. It is known to be one of the finest dining halls in the Western world, and the paintings are by James Thornhill which took 19 years to finish, starting in 1709. The painted hall stood empty until 1806, (insane!) when the body of Admiral Lord Nelson was brought there to lie. He had been killed at the moment of his victory over Napoleon's fleet at Cape Trafalgar on the 21st of October, 1805. From there I walked across the grass to the Painted Chapel, which was also stunningly beautiful. Greenwich would be a beautiful place for a wedding. 

One of the ceiling friezes

The entrance to the Painted Hall.

I knew that the thing I wanted to see most in Greenwich, was the East/West Meridian line. You know - Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), so I continued on up the hill to the Royal Observatory. I paid my £7.50 (the first time I had to pay for something all day, except the donations I gave for the other places) and entered the grounds of the Observatory which were really pretty, well-kept gardens. I only had 40 minutes before closing time so walked around until I found the meridian line... only to find that about 50 people also had the same idea. So I spent the rest of my time queuing up to get my classic photo, feet astride the line. I'm pleased I did this, even though it was a 30 minute wait in the queue. 

Tee hee. This isn't it. But I thought it was funny. 

And here it is, the east/west Meridian line. It says WELLINGTON by my right toe!

Straddling.

When I was coming back on the train I was standing at the station with two other African men - who started talking to me. I had my iPhone out and was facebook surfing, and one of them asked me if I was texting him. I was like, 'No??' and he said 'Would you like to'. Laugh out loud. Great. I was now being picked up on a Sunday afternoon by an African man.  The train arrived, much to my delight, and I boarded. An they followed. And despite the train carriage being empty except for us, they decided to sit with me. Of *course* they did! He was friendly enough and asked me what I was doing out this way today and why I was in London when NZ was such a beautiful country (ooh - good question??) and then asked if I had a boyfriend, or was married. My quick reaction was 'Yes, I have a boyfriend, sorry.' He was clearly disappointed, but then proceeded to say 'Sorry, I just had to ask because you are just so beautiful, such a beautiful face you have' and blah blah blah. I continued to smile and not make a fuss, and just wanted to arrive at my stop already. I decided for novelty sake to have a photo with him, so here he is - meet Richard. From Africa - he is a chef at an African Restaurant in Deptford. It made for an eventful trip home, if nothing else.

Richard... the latest guy to hit on me on public transport.

I had an awesome day - and was absolutely shattered on getting home... it is always a busy day when you're out being a tourist! I have two weeks of work to go and then I go on my mammoth 8 week trip. I have now booked all my trains and planes (except my flight to wherever Erin and Thomas will be when I am back from my UK trip), and I have even booked my ticket to see "Sunday in the Park with George" as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. How lucky I am that this is on when I am in town! This Thursday I am seeing Dylan Moran (Bernard from 'Black Books') and on Friday Kylie and I fly to Belfast for the weekend. As you do! Can't wait, as I've not been to Ireland. I will drink one pint of Guinness... but only because I feel it is my duty to whilst in Ireland for the first time. Hopefully the protest which happens on the 12th of July is all over and done with by Friday... and that there are no riots! Until more adventures (which you just *know* there will be....)


Cheery bye :)