it's showtime!

We've been in London for just over 48 hours and haven't wasted a moment as far as the theatre/entertainment area is concerned.

1. The Symphony

On Friday night we went to a symphony in Barbican Hall... the music part itself was good, if not a little too soothing. remember my problem where every time I sit down I fall asleep?

But the part I was not sure I was loving was the opera that took place the second half of the performance. I'm aware that operas normally have something to do with infidelity, but this particular one was just a bad plot. It revolved around a clock worker's adulterous wife who couldn't decide who she was going to have her affair with. It was sung in what I thought was French, but had English subtitles on the screen behind the show, which made it all the worse. Maybe they can get away with sounding pretty in French, but reading the lines in English was anything but.

My favorite part of the night for sure was being yelled at by some cranky, old English woman for having my feet on the seat in front of me (the soles of my shoes were touching the seat, I was not lounging!) and then getting the biggest stink eye I've ever received when I had a paper bag that made a little crumpling noise at the beginning of the show. She moved at intermission. Super typical- we seem to offend people everywhere we go. Sporting the American pride! Whoops.

Do we look like annoying tourists yet? 

2. Richard the III

This afternoon (Saturday) we attended a matinee showing of Richard the III by Shakespeare himself at the globe theatre! In true Victorian fashion, we got to see this one as "groundlings"... aka we stood the full three hours right beneath the stage and got to get a feel for how they actually viewed the plays in the 17th century. It was so great! I don't know that I would choose to stand for every theatrical performance I see from here on out, but it was honestly an experience I won't forget. The plot is a lesson from history- a spoiled duke who decides he wants to be king and kills everyone in his way but then ends up getting killed himself- and you could say it was a very cultural experience. And the bonus? The actor who played the Duke of Birmingham was the same actor who plays Barty Crouch in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! Long live HP! 

3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

After the globe theater fun, we decided to do a little night in the city, and we found the greatest Mexican food. (maybe it was just because we've all been missing Mexican food...) After dinner, we headed over to Leicester Square and saw a movie at the Empire theater. The night life is crazy around this area and there were people dressed up as zombies and all sorts of weird stuff. Totally fun. We saw "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and I fell even more in love with Emma Watson. There were definitely some parts of the movie that I wished that they had left out, but I still really liked it. I appreciate a movie that makes you think or feel rather than is made solely to entertain, and this movie definitely falls under that category. 

And finally... This week we get to see the ballet The Swan Lake! Updates on that as it comes.