Weekend in London

Thursday
We (my coworker and I) went to a nice Italian restaurant in Windsor last Thursday called Castello. I had an avocado filled with prawns for a starter, and then baked eggplant for the main course. We shared a bottle of Australian Shiraz/Cabernet, and then we bid farewell to Windsor one last time.

Friday -- Avril Lavigne
Earlier last week, one of my coworkers mentioned that Avril Lavigne was performing in London this weekend. As some of you know, Avril Lavigne is one of my 'guilty pleasures.' Needless to say, I was very excited about possibly seeing her live

After checking in at our London hotel on Friday, we headed straight to the venue, the London Apollo. Upon arrival, we saw a queue that stretched for several blocks, but we weren't dismayed. We negotiated with a scalper for two tickets at £10 less than face value per ticket. That amounted to £17.50 per ticket. ¡¡¡And we were in!!!

The concert was great. I was singing along and laughing out loud most of the time. As "Sk8er Boi" came on, I nearly guffawed myself to tears! ... Can I make it anymore obvious?

Saturday
I woke up early to find breakfast near Chinatown, then did a little shopping and headed to Westminster Abbey. I bucked up and paid the £8 to get in the Abbey and enjoyed the beautiful and majesticarchitecture, as well as the many monuments and memorials to royals, authors, playwrights and other notable Britons. A highlight was the Coronation Chair, which has been used for every coronation ceremony since the 1300s! The last royal behind to grace the chair was Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

After Westminster, I went with my coworker to Leicester Square to see about tickets for shows. We were both pleased that Phantom of the Opera was available at a reasonable price, so we bought the tickets, ate a phenomenal lunch at Yo! Sushi and arranged to meet at Her Majesty's Theatre at 7:30 for the show. The rest of the afternoon I meandered down Charing Cross Road, Oxford Street, and Shaftesbury Avenue. The weakness of the U.S. Dollar helped me avoid purchasing much, but I enjoyed the walk.

Phantom of the Opera
Critiquing theatre is not my forte, so I will keep my review short: I loved Phantom of the Opera!!! It definitely lived up to the positive opinions I have heard and read about the musical and the production.

And after a long day of walking the city, sitting down and watching a world-class musical was just what I needed! After the show, we went down the street to Quod for a late dinner. By then it was midnight and I returned to the hotel for the night.

Sunday
This morning I explored the Petticoat Lane markets, and then went to Brick Lane, home to London's Bengali and Bangladeshi community for several decades. It was like Chicago's Devon Street, but multiplied by five. Besides the various Indian or Bangladeshi stores, there were many second-hand and vintage clothing stores. After perusing these markets, I sat down and dined at Clipper for some great Bangladeshi
food. I ate Naan, Lamb Jaferizi, and lots of chutneys. (As far as I could tell, Bangladeshi cuisine is a lot like Indian food.)

Speakers Corner
Since the late 1800s, a corner of Hyde Park has been designated as a place where one can say whatever one likes. Every Sunday afternoon, this corner becomes a lively place to listen to, speak about or debate topics such as religion, politics, history, or even where someone ate dinner two Wednesday nights ago (though I doubt anyone would listen to that).

This Sunday, the scene was definitely lively. I saw two of the same characters that I remember from 2001 when I first came to the Corner. One was a Marxist; the other was a philosopher who wears red horns (photos will follow). Anyway, as I was listening to the Marxist talk about how Chinese capitalists have been ruining China by turning from the Marxist foundations of their country, commotion interrupted us and I turned to see a fight break out among those who were debating Iraq.

The best I can tell, a group of people were talking about the USA and Arab countries, and someone said something about someone's history and that person took it personally and responded with a blow. You see, the one rule about Speakers Corner is that no matter how heated a row becomes, no one should resort to physical battery. As the philosopher with the red horns later told me, "Speakers Corner is supposed to be for intellectuals, not for angry, cowardly people who come here to attack someone, anyone, as an outlet for their frustrated rage." It was easy to agree with the red-horned philosopher about this. In any case, I left Speakers Corner with an expanded view of the world, if not a changed view of humanity.

The Week Has Ended
That sums up the week. For the rest of my time here I'll be staying at a hotel near Hyde Park in London and working at an office only four Tube stops away. I'm hoping the project will go smoothly and that I'll have time to explore more of London during the evenings this week.