Last night, my mom took me out to this fancy French restaurant called Mirabelle, just a 5 minute walk from my place. Dinner was delicious! I got to try Duck à l'orange and soufflé for the first time. I think I'm getting seriously addicted to fine dining, which isn't a very sustainable habit in expensive London unfortunately. Fine dining is wonderful because:
- It's mostly food you can't make yourself.
- You can order appetiser, entrée and dessert and just feel pleasantly full, instead of how it is in Canada. I end up taking half my main course home in a doggy bag and not having room for anything else!
- The subtle flavours of the food are greatly enhanced by a glass of wine.
- And it's delicious!
In my pyjamas this morning, I said goodbye to my mom as she left to fly to Australia for 5 weeks on business. Then I prepared for my birthday, determined not to sleep it away.
Since I haven't made many new friends in London yet, I decided to spend the day on my own, doing things just for me. I took a nice walk to Leicester Square to inquire how to get last-minute tickets to Macbeth this evening.
Then I walked back, stopping at the Virgin Megastores to plan how to use the 50 pound (if anyone knows how to insert the UK pound symbol, let me know) gift certificate my dad sent me online.
After having some sushi at this little restaurant in an alley that I always walk by, I arrived back in my neighbourhood for my one-hour massage appointment, which my back sorely needed (pun intended) at this cute little Japanese massage place by my flat. It was great! I've tried different massage styles and swedish is far superior to the rest if you actually have knots in your back.
Then I grabbed a self-help book Lara gave me for my bday and went across to Green Park to sit under a tree amongst the Autumn leaves. (It's funny, the leaves are shaped similarly to maple leaves here, but they all turn the same yellow-brown colour.) I worked through a bit of the book, journalling as I got to the activities. It was great breathing in the cool fresh air and sitting in the park, even on a cloudy day.
When it got too cold, I eventually made my way back to the theatre district and lined up outside of the sold-out theatre to see if I could get any "return" tickets. Even though I was an hour and a half early, the line was still substantial, so it looked bleak. But I stood my ground, listening to a BBC improv comedy show about the news on my iPod (I love those improv shows! They have a few on TV as well.)
I was lucky enough to get a ticket, and in the second row too! (Full price though, but that's what I wanted. Hey, what's the point of seeing Patrick Stewart in Macbeth if you're all the way in the back, right?) It was off a scalper, but I verified the authenticity of the ticket with the usher first and the price was the face value of the ticket, so I went for it.
As I sat down in the theatre wondering how on earth the scalper was making any money from this deal, the lady next to me asked me how I got the ticket. It turns out that she had an extra ticket because her friend was sick. She was planning on just keeping the ticket, when the scalper came along to ask if she had a spare. He bought it off her for 30 pounds (and I paid 50!). She had no idea that there was a "returns" line (sorry, queue) outside nor that you could just return the ticket at the box office (maybe with some nominal fee). So even though scalping isn't that ethical, it seems like everyone won in this case except maybe the box office (if the charge a return fee). Hm... I think next time though I'll try to refrain from buying a scalped ticket... And I didn't jump the "returns" queue either because I was the next in line who was willing to pay for the expensive seat.
The show was great and Patrick Stewart lived up to his reputation. The play was done with 40s(?) era costumes/settings which made an interesting effect. The whole thing makes me want to buy the book and study it. No, seriously. I waited outside the stage door and managed to get some not-so-great photos of him signing autographs. But I didn't bug him for one because it seems inconsiderate to bug someone for something like that when they just want to go home after a gruelling performance. And what would I do with an autograph anyway?
I turned 28 today - yay! Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone. It's always nice to know people are thinking of you even when you're far away. :)
I walked home and am now writing this inaugural post to my London blog. I should go to bed soon because I'm going for a walk in the country tomorrow with some colleagues! I'm really looking forward to it, even if the forecast is rain...
Posts
