Theatres, trains, and museums, oh, my!

A few days ago, Andy stopped over for a visit on his way to Greece. Shout out! He came to visit sunny Coventry and then we headed down to London for a night on the town. We had dinner in Leicester Square then double-decker bussed it over to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to see Wicked. It was a very clever and great show that made me want to a. reread that book and b. sing loudly and proudly as much as possible. It seems like such an awesome job to sing like that every day. There are some amazing voices in that show, wow. Great costumes and set design too, but what do I expect from a proper west end show? Of course the costumes and sets and voices were good! I do wonder what L. Frank Baum would think of it.

In the morning, Andy left at some un-Godly hour, and I slept until a more reasonable time before heading to the London Transport Museum. I have just a minor obsession with the London tube which makes this museum awesome. From the beginnings of public transport to how they hand dug the first (and many subsequent) tube tunnels, it is full of cool old vehicles, tickets, advertisements, and signage. There are also several opportunities to drive a simulated tube train that was really cool. I think I want one in my house. You can also sit in the drivers seat of a double decker and climb upstairs in some antique buses. Their gift shop is probably the best I've seen, although everything is super expensive. They have purses and pillows made from old tube patterned upholstery, tons of underground memorabilia, and every London travel poster one could hope for. Okay, nerd rant over (again). But, that museum was worth the £5.

It is situated next to Covent Garden, which on a Saturday, is an excellent place to be. It's full of street performers, tourists, and delicious and fancy street foods (like pumpkin torteloni, yum!).
I wandered over to Trafalgar square just because I like it and of course made my millionth visit the National Gallery. On the way out I was struck with a reluctance to leave and a sadness, knowing that I will soon not be able to go there any day of the week.
I made a short stop in the Wellcome Collection which has a great array of strange medical items and related art. I was frankly surprised to have only now stumbled upon this museum considering my love of medical oddities. They have an exhibit at the moment dedicated to skin. Exploring tattoos, diseases, and cellular make up, it was weirdly wonderful.

I'm back in Cov today, now panicking slightly at the date and come to think of it, it was about this time last year that I was panicking about the date and my impending move. Life is cyclical. What comforted me then was making a list, and I think that will be useful again this year. The thesis will be okay, but I am, as usual, easily distracted, now with making travel plans to 'the continent' before I go home. It turns out that the continent is getting slightly expanded in my mind as I am zeroing in on a sweet sounding trip to Morocco.

On a completely unrelated note, mere weeks after my post about the National Railway Museum and it's lack of Hogwarts Express action, it was announced that they will indeed be displaying that train in the near future. That's the kind of power I have here. Or, not. I just have the same ideas as 7 year olds.
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