Opera, Ballet and More Cream Teas (I'm Not Addicted)

Friday 27 - Sunday 29 October

This weekend has produced some memories I'll treasure.

Friday night, Caroline and I went to dinner then to La Boheme at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. I'd never been there so it was great to finally see it. The opera was exquisite and the venue is amazing. At the interval, we had icecream (which I also had at Spamalot) and I think that's a very civilised thing to serve at this type of function. Unfortunately for Caroline, hers reacted badly with her and she was unwell throughout the night when she got home...

Saturday we met up and went to an old haunt of ours: the Victoria & Albert Museum (V & A). Before Caroline arrived, I spent some time at the nearby Science Museum which was awesome. I just had time to check out the lower floors but it was great to see things like working examples of a Watt steam engine and 'artifacts' (an Apple II PC from 1976, an early video recorder from 1979 bigger than a TV etc) from the 20th century.

The V & A is an amazing place which houses an incredible collection of things. We loved the stained glass windows, the glass and the fashion displays. There was a 60s fashion exhibition on which again made me think of my Mum who lived in London 1961 - 1965 and who wore Mary Quant outfits!

We had lunch (then afternoon tea) at the V & A cafe then took off for the apartment to change and freshen up. We then went off to dinner in the West End then back to the Royal Opera House for opening night of the Royal Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty! Now I loved this. Such beauty and grace and the costumes were gorgeous. Caroline didn't partake of the icecream this time but I did! Thanks to all the walking I've done for the past month, my weight is about the same as it was when I left New Zealand, but my poor tootsies and ankles resemble those of the Elephant Woman (Paul doesn't know it yet, but he will be my slave for a couple of weeks when I return and part of his duties will be foot massages).

Caroline had to dash to catch the late train home but I wandered around Covent Garden for a while, just taking in the sights and sounds. A warning though: it's tough negotiating cobblestoned streets in your high heels!

Sunday, Caroline and I met up again and headed off to the Tate Modern gallery via the Millennium Bridge. Now these appeared since I left in 1996 so I was keen to see them. The Tate Modern is an amazing space but I'll admit I'm more of a classic art fan than a modern art fan. A lot of the works were macabre and some were downlight twisted but I tried to keep an open mind.

One painting had just been displayed the week of our visit and was getting a lot of attention and attracting controversy. It's a portrait of Queen Elizabeth but this is one she never posed for. It's almost like a cartoon or carichature of an old woman (like the 'pepperpots' Monty Python used to portray). Anyway, she's got her teeth out and her bottom lip is placed over her top one and she's all in lolly pink! I just cracked up seeing it. She's got such old lady attitude, like she's saying 'Get stuffed the lot of you!'. Just fab! Unfortuately there was no postcard with the print because I thought it would be a great thing to have pinned up in my cubicle at work (next to my snow dome of Cologne Cathedral Paul got me and the radio shaped like a lemon). Those who know me know I'm not insane...

Then we walked along the South Bank to Waterloo Station and went - yep, you guessed it - to have a CREAM TEA! Heh heh heh heh....

But this was not just any old cream tea my friends. This was at the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone (around the corner from my apartment). It's real posh with shiny things and shiny people everywhere and a bloke in a top hat opens the door for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! Ya-boo! Boy!

I behaved like a lady. Promise.

Our tea was served on a three-tiered plate with little sammies (yes, there were cucumber ones) and little cakey delights and of course scones, jam and clotted cream. We stretched this out for over an hour and in such sumptuous surroundings, thought ourselves totally spoiled and utterly fabulous.

No need for dinner this evening!