Wicked trip 2010

It really was a Wicked trip. We travelled down to London to see Wicked on stage at the Apollo Victoria and had a few days to dot about and do the tourist thing. What follows is what we saw with some pictures and how I liked it.

MONDAY

We arrived on Monday morning and were lucky to get checked in early to our hotel so we dumped our bags and headed off to the city.


First thing was the London Eye. It was fun and definitely something to do at least once if you're in London, the views are not something you'd see anywhere else.


Then it was onto the Aquarium. I like Aquariums and I mentioned to my partner this time that I don't know why I'm alright with Aquariums but not zoos when it's basically the same thing. Animals being put in a simulted environment for our entertainment and enjoyment.
I don't know if it's because aquariums at least try to make the environment like the real ones. Whatever it is I like visiting aquariums but absolutely hate zoos.
So yeah, the London Aquarium is worth a visit but I suppose it's the same as most aquariums.

As we exited the aquarium we were confronted by a TV showing people screaming and people covered in blood. Naturally we stopped to watch it.
It was Death Trap by the Fright Club. An interactive show where the tourists are being shown round a psychiatric hospital that is having some problems. As you enter the hospital the lights go out and you have to help the Dr find the key to get out and find the exit.
The patients are wild and will try to stop you from leaving by grabbing you or trying to scare you. It's amazing how frightening an experience it is when it's pitch black and someone grabs your ankle from behind (what you thought was) a wall.
The idea is brilliant and I definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London.


Next up was the Film Museum, also next to the aquarium. It's a trip through British film studios and also has props and costumes from well known films. There was some great things on display including a Ray Harryhausen exhibit which, unfortunately, you weren't allowed to take pictures of. A must see for any film fans out there.

That was the end of Monday, we'd been non stop for basically 12 hours by this point so we went to the hotel and chilled for the rest of the night.



TUESDAY

Tuesday has a fairly disappointing start, we went to Camden market but apparently most of the market holders don't like to get out of bed early so there wasn't a lot of stalls open.

So we headed down to Picadilly where we met a friend for lunch and bought some books then we went into Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Most people have heard of Ripley's, it's basically what would have been called a freak show in days gone by. Some really cool things on show here. The first thing you see is a hubcap gorilla then when you get upstairs there's a Mini all bedazzled and decorated with Mount Rushmore. Blingtastic!
One thing that made an impact was a very simple display. A small sink full of water that's the temperature they think the water was the night Titanic sank. It was painful after about 2 seconds and I pretty much lasted about 10 seconds before I had to take my hand out. I could still feel the pain about 5-10 minutes left.

After that we headed back to the hotel to rest a bit before we went to see Wicked!

Based on Gregory Maguire's book about the Wicked Witch of the West's upbringing and life before Dorothy cruelly killed her.
I loved this show so much. As soon as it was over I would've happily watched it again. The music was thrilling, I had goosebumps. The story adaptation was good and funny as hell. The cast was amazing, very well chosen. The sets were gorgeous and colourful, as were the costumes.
The whole show was just fantastic and a definite must see if you liked the book.



WEDNESDAY

We picked up a map at the reception and headed for the Natural History Museum.

I like museums but unfortunately we chose the same day that all the schools chose. This made for a very annoying trip as kids were everywhere and kids are noisy and annoying as all hell!

We then headed to to the Cartoon Museum but when we got there we realised it wasn't as good as it sounded so we left and went to the British Museum instead.

Not as many kids in this one so a big bonus but unfortunately after 2 whole days of walking, our feet (and my back) had decided they didn't want to play anymore! So we got about 1/4 of the way round before deciding to give up and return next time we're in London.

So we headed to the Tower of London where we were planning on joining a Jack the Ripper walk later that evening. We got there early and sat down in a wee park just to give our tootsies a rest.
The walk was fun and very informative. There was a lot I didn't know about Jack the Ripper! Our guide was very entertaining. I recommend this but go with Ripping Yarns as they have a good rep and some good reviews on their website.



THURSDAY

Thursday was home day :(
We had to check out by midday then we basically just spent all day at the airport 'cos the weather was horrible and we didn't feel like wandering about (with our cases) in the pissing rain.



And that dear readers (all 2 of you probably) was our London trip.