2 Plays and Westminster Abbey

I woke up this morning at 8:00 am in order to wait in line and get tickets to see Matilda.  My friend Maddie and I had tried this a few weeks prior but the show was sold out before we made it to the clerk.  We were told to try getting tickets the day of for a matinee show because stalls (front section) were sold at half price (30 pounds rather than 60).  We figured for good seats we pay 30 pounds.

We got to the line at 9:30 and had to stand in the rain for 30 minutes!  The box office opened at 10:00 and when we got to the teller we were surprised when it was only 5 pounds for front row seats at the matinee showing!! Without hesitation we purchased those tickets.

At this point it was 10:15 and we had class at 11:00.  Today for Historic London we were touring Westminster Abbey.  The perfect day for an inside tour! (we lucked out!)  We got to our meeting area early and were able to take pictures by the houses of parliament and Big Ben.

{Parliament and Big Ben}

{Me and Ben}

I found the class tour super interesting.  It seemed that 1/3 of Westminster Abbey is a church and the rest is a memorial or cemetery.  We walked over so many plaques in memory of politicians, musicians, scientists, and poetics.  There were also the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Mary I, Queen Mary of Scots, and the unknown warrior.  William and Kate were married in this church last year and Kate had to walk around the tomb of the unknown soldier.  It is the only tomb that you can not walk over.

{Built in Gothic French style like Notre Dame in Paris}

{Westminster Abbey has pointy arches rather than curved arches like St. Paul's Cathedral; Pointy Arches can be taller therefore prayers are closer to Heaven - Westminster Abbey measures 105 feet tall}

After the tour of Westminster Abbey, Maddie and I headed back to Leicester Square for a quick lunch and then the musical.  Matilda was such a good musical.  I was so impressed with the little kids and their talent! Also the set was so cool.  There were book shelves that rolled on and off stage and fit together like a puzzle.  The stage was decorated with books and letters (like scrabble letters).  There was a scene where the kids swing on stage and they were seriously over our faces.  It was like a musical in 3-D!

The play was long and ended at 5:30.  Luckily we had a few hours to kill before the second play.  I was able to go home and take a quick rest since I hadn't been home since 9:00 am.

The second play we saw was for my performing arts class.  The play was called In Basildon.  It is a new play about a family that lives in Basildon, a part of Essex.  They had very thick accents and I found it hard to understand.  Plus they had adult humor that we didn't think was very funny nor did we catch on to their punch line.

I am off to Switzerland tomorrow so make sure to check back on Sunday for updates on hopefully the best and unfortunately the most expensive trip!