London Day Trip: Phantom of the Opera

Despite being here almost 2 years and being about 2 hours away, we had yet to do a London day trip.  Now, we spent 3 nights in London a year ago and 8 nights last October, so it's not like we haven't been, but just not for the day.

The reason for the trip is likely obvious by now, but we decided to see the Phantom of the Opera during a matinee performance.   We went along with our friends the Seppanens who actually spearheaded the activity.  In order get decent seats all together, we purchased our tickets back in October.

The day went something like this:

7:30     leave house for train station
8:00     take train to London St. Pancras
9:30     arrive at St. Pancras; head to Tube
10:10   arrive at Victoria & Albert Museum (on the other side of town, South Kensington)
1:45     leave V&A and take Tube to Piccadilly Circus
2:30     Phantom of the Opera
5:15     dinner
8:10     Tube back to St. Pancras
9:00     take train back to Derby
11:30+ arrive in Derby (extra hour on the way back due to planned and unplanned stops)
12:00   home

As you can see, it makes for a long day but we were glad we did it.  Note that we split up from the Seppanens for the morning as we had different goals for the day.  Read Jay's version here.

It's always good to hang with the Seps.  The kids all get along well.  Occasionally they are more interactive than this.  The adults were a little more conversant.  Jay and I talk trip planning and Lori and Kuk talk shop (work).

Our morning destination was the Victoria & Albert Museum (stock photo).  We were able to get all the way there without setting foot outside (train, tube, underground walkway, basement entrance).  So, we didn't actually see this view!

From wiki, the V&A is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, it was founded in 1852, and has since grown to cover 12.5 acres (51,000 m²) and 145 galleries. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, in virtually every medium, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa.   [No, we didn't try to see it all.]

I can't say what the main entrance looks like, but the one from the subway is eye catching.  Quite a bit of sculpture throughout this section.  We've determined that we are sculpture people so we enjoyed this area in general.   The pieces on the side were early Rodins.

How'd you like this 1930 bronze relief above your fireplace?

 

This figure of the celebrated quack doctor Joshua Ward (1686-1761) may have been intended as a monument in Westminster Abbey, which in the event was never erected.  Ward was a renowned philanthropist and opened two hospitals for the poor.  His hand gesture may indicated generosity, while his bulky figure suggests prosperity.  [Agostino Carlini, ~1760]

Moving to the Japanese section . . . this samurai warrior caught my eye (nice 'stache too).   Made in 1859 in the style of 1100-1200 AD.

 

I enjoyed explaining to my Korean food loving boy that these were traditional kim-chi pots that would have been buried in the ground while fermenting away.
 

Jay Seppanen pic:  St. George slaying the Dragon (plaster cast from Prague)  [this guy is everywhere]

 

mirror image porcelain dolls

 

Samson slaying a Philistine (~1562) by Giambologna

 

interesting spout for a lion, pipe and dragon

 

out of fashion by the mid 1700's but still required for royal engagements,  this dress took some deft maneuvering to get through doors and in/out of carriages, etc.
 

This one got an audible gasp from Kuk.  "What is that mother doing do her baby?"

Nicole:  <sigh>  Mommmmmmm.  That's Achilles.  His mom, Thetis, is dipping him into the River Styx.  Duh.  (at least she's learning something at school)

This is a 1790 sculpture by Thomas Banks.  The wife and child are in the images of his family.

Poor picture due to the glass, but interesting:  Tippoo's Tiger.  The life-sized automaton of carved and painted wood represents a tiger devouring a prostrate European in 1790's dress.  A crank handle operates two mechanisms to move the man's joined arm and simulate roars and groans.  [What a nice musical toy . . . .]

The Gloucester Candlestick, commissioned 1107-1113.  The candlestick was commissioned by Abbot Peter and the monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter, Gloucester.  In the foliage, men and monsters are shown in combat illustrating the struggle between light and darkness.  An inscription calls the candlestick a work of virtue and light, beaming out holy doctrine.  The symbols of the four evangelists point to their role as the sources of light.

Pretty impressive, especially since my first thought was Col. Mustard in the Ball Room.

I didn't note who this was.  It appears she has an itch on her leg (perhaps the snake?).

Enameled Ewer by Susane de Court (~1600), the only known women enameler in 16th century Limoges (France).

 Glass sculpture in main entryway, similar to the one in the Indianapolis Children's Museum.

 Notebook from Leonardo da Vinci

 

I found this threesome of Charles I a little creepy

amidst all the historical collections, we also have the costumes from the Lion King 

 and another

We enjoyed the museum.  It was a low-key affair.  It was well laid out and easy to get around.  Lunch at the cafe wasn't bad either.  The kids tolerated it more than liked it, but oh well.

Next up was the main event:  the Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre [not my photo].  As you likely know, this is an Andrew Lloyd Weber Musical that started in 1986.  According to wiki, it is the longest running show in Broadway history and the second longest musical in London (to Les Miserables).  It has reached 10,000 performances in each location.  It's based on a french novel  from the early 1900s (interesting wiki link).

Kuk's a big fan of the music.  We've had the CDs for quite some time.  We saw it 1995 and 2001, both in Indianapolis.  We reunited with the Seppanens and enjoyed the show.  I wouldn't put it in the same class as Les Miserables or Lion King, but it was enjoyable (especially given our history with the show).

After the show, we all went to dinner at Andalucia's Tapas Restaurant which was just around the corner.  I thought tapas would be a nice way to enjoy good food and good company over a leisurely meal.  The food was great and we all enjoyed ourselves (though the bill was a little steep, as can happen when you graze on tapas all night).  For those going to London, I found it through www.toptable.co.uk which is a handy way to search by location and cuisine and has more local input that tripadvisor typically does.

Alas, it was a long day.  The train ride back seemed to take a long time.  The return train always does as it makes more stops.  There were also some mechanical issues that prolonged some of the stops further.  Oh well, at least we made it back safe and sound.  [this was just a little cat nap for Alex; he sprung back to life to the annoyance of most of us]

not much spring left with Kuk, I'm afraid

We almost had a disastrous return as knucklehead me accidently threw out my Derby parking ticket while we were in London.  There was no one manning the station so it looked like we might have to take a taxi back and pay the eye-watering lost ticket fee of £25 the next day.  Fortunately, I was able to buzz the intercom and the guy was too busy to sort it out, so he just let me through.  Phew.

Good times all around.  We should do this more often.  But then again, there's one reason we don't do it every weekend:

train tickets for 4, booked in advance:  £60

Tube fare:  £15

Museum:  free

Lunch:  £25

Theatre tickets for 4:  £220

Dinner:  £100 (can obviously eat for less)

Parking:  £6.50 (er, free)

Total:  £420 (about $660).  Definitely not an every weekend thing, but okay every now and then.  In fact, we've booked some good seats to Les Miserables for May.  Stay tuned.

Have a good week everyone.

Wollaton Hall and various Odds and Sods

The weather has returned to normal (above freezing) temperatures so it was time to get back out in the world.  Today's trip took us to Wollaton Hall just outside of Nottingham.  You'll notice Alex is missing.  We left him at a friend's house for a pre-arranged play date with a good friend.

Before diving into the details, we also had a great night last night.  Unfortunately, bone-headed me didn't take any pictures for the blog.  We had friends and fellow ex-pats Doug and Tara Schetzel (blog link) over for a nice evening.  We tried to justify the cost of the transformer we bought and used our US fondue pots for a relaxing multi-course meal.   Good times.  Sorry about the pics.

Wollaton Hall was built in the 1580's for this guy, Sir Francis Willoughby.   It stayed in the family until 1925 when it was given over to the Nottingham City government (official link).  That's fairly unique in our experience as most are managed by a private trust (like Chatsworth) or run by the National Trust (like Hardwick Hall).  It's housed the Nottingham Natural History Museum since 1926.

 

Of recent note, Wollaton Hall was used in scenes from The Dark Knight Rises as the latest Wayne Manor.

The inside of the house was rather unspectacular.  I guess that points to some manor fatigue on our part.  It was actually more about the Natural History Museum than the period house.  It was odd to see all of these stuffed animals, but as was pointed out, they date back to the early 1900s when this was how folks learned about the animals at that time.

A special note was made about the trophy heads and how that was once an acceptable practice of the day (but is no longer).

They had some interesting skeletons as well like this orangutan. 

 and this massive hippopotamus skull

I believe this gorilla dates back to the 1800s

the only artifact of note that I photographed inside the house was this array of "Brown Bess" muskets that were used by Henry, 6th Lord Middleton, in 1804 in preparation for Napoleonic attacks

 the grounds contain a deer park which was kinda neat (but off in the distance on this occasion)

lots of folks out walking their dogs including these two huge Irish Wolfhounds (I think)

a look back at the Hall from our short walk around the grounds

 two swans in the lake -- quite a few water fowl overall (just not shown here)

 

herron nest (point and shoot zoom limitations I'm afraid)

You are probably wondering what this is.  Well, we stopped in the cafe for a quick bite for Nicole and tea for Kuk and me.  We found a table, but it needed to be cleaned.  One gal was walking around clearing (not cleaning) the tables and we eventually asked her if she could clean the table so we could use it.  So, she gets some spray and hoses it down and walks away.  I just had to chuckle.  Service here can really make you scratch your head.  Kuk, not exactly in a chuckling mood, got up to get some napkins to finish the job.  What can you do.

So, the Park/Hall are worth a stop if you are in the area (it was free after all) and the grounds are worth a nice stroll, particularly once the weather improves further.  The museum didn't do all that much for me, but no biggie. 

Laziness got the better of me last weekend.  We had perfect snow timing as it didn't start until after we got home on Friday night.  I knew it would be gone by Sunday so I didn't feel like dealing with it on Saturday.  Once it did leave, we ended up running errands on Sunday instead of venturing out.

 last Saturday morning -- probably 4-5"

this is in the nearby area of Allestree -- I decided to walk about 20 minutes to Park Farm for a haircut and a few food items.  Very typical neighborhood with close houses, no front yards and parked cars to dodge on the street (though not many out at this time)

 last Sunday morning -- how quickly the snow left this time

 

 Nicole took the opportunity last weekend to make her first batch of Cake Pops (thanks Aunt Sheri!) -- yummy

On to the latest installment of my Jamie Oliver 15-minute experiences

 

 grilled tuna w/ pasta verde

 spring greens, pork marsala and porcini mushroom rice (surprisingly the greens were the best part)

Asian black bean flavored burgers, crunchy veg w/ noodles and a water chestnut salad  (the veggies were also the hit of this one too)

 mushroom pasta with a blue cheese spinach salad (probably skip this one, though the salad was a keeper)

 Turkish Flats -- nice but not one to have too often

That's all.  Have a good week everyone.