London Baby!!! (part two)

So, where were we? Ah, that's right, in the pub!

Well, it was 2 hours until show time, so we'd decided to squeeze in a cheeky pint. The pub was rammed and all we really wanted to do was take the weight off our feet. I stood waiting at the bar, when I realised I'd been deserted. Then I heard one of the girls yell 'table' from the other side of the bar. And there we sat. I'm pretty sure that everyone else, who'd gone there for a quiet pub lunch, were tutting away at us under their breath as we got progressively louder after each pint! We weren't rude, just loud! But I don't think everyone appreciates loudness. 

3 pints later and we had 30 minutes to make our way to the theatre. Plenty of time! Yea, if we knew where we were going! On leaving the pub, we were faced with some street performers, the ones dressed as bronze statues. So, of course, we had to stop and pose for some pictures. Then we didn't have a clue which direction we needed to head in. So we hailed a cab (I felt quite important, I'd never done that before!) The lady driving told us that the theatre wasn't that far away and it was easy enough to walk. She kindly gave us directions and left us to it! I would put money on it that she just didn't want to take a bunch of giggly girls in her taxi! 

It turns out the theatre wasn't that far, if we'd followed her directions instead of finding our own 'shortcut'. But no, we knew better. The 2 of us who hadn't had a lunchtime pint were getting quite irate that the rest of us weren't going fast enough, and they were worried we were going to be late. We had a whole 5 minutes left, I don't know what all the stress was about! When we eventually found the theatre they were just getting ready to close the doors. I'm glad we made it. I always feel quite embarrassed for the stragglers who have to be guided to their seats by an usher with a torch! 

The show was fantastic. Not my favourite in terms of the story, but who doesn't enjoy singing along to Queen tracks? Especially when the guy in the lead role is fairly easy on the eye! We Will Rock You is definitely worth a watch if you appreciate the male form! 

After the show we had a table booked at a lovely little bistro that my friend and I regularly use when we go to London. The food was excellent, as always. Then we had another semi drunken tube journey back to the hotel. Another night of drinking ensued! Our poor livers! Once we'd drank all the alcohol in our room we thought we'd go and try out the hotel bar. 6 women, aged between 26 and 50, wearing pyjamas and drinking Jäger bombs! 

The following morning we were woken by friend hugging the toilet at 6.30am! She did warn us that Jäger bombs make her sick. Bless her. Another couple of hours and we decided to make a move. No point lying in bed when you can't even sleep. So the 3 of us in our room got up, washed and packed and went for breakfast as soon as it was open. The other 3 were still out for the count at this point! So we went for a walk. 

We came across a cemetery and wandered in. (Honestly, there's not really much to do at 9 o'clock on a Sunday morning in London!) In the cemetery we found the tamest squirrels ever! People were feeding them by hand! It was really quite surreal. Then I got chased by one, so I ran away screaming, not exactly appropriate behaviour for a grave yard! My friend got brave and decided to feed one. All we had on us was an Aero biscuit bar, so she gave it that! Normal people were feeding them nuts and bread crumbs, but not us! We chose chocolate! Much appreciated though, the squirrel ran off, happy as Larry with his chocolate bar! 

At 11 we went back to check on the others. They were up and almost human. So we checked out and headed for Euston. There was nearly an hour until our train, so have a guess how we spent that hour? Yep, in the pub! Be rude not to eh? Next time though, remind me to find a pub before we get to the train station. £5.95 for a small red wine!!! Extortion! 

So, there you have it. That was my weekend in London. Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! 

London Baby!!! (part one)

What an awesome weekend! Kicked off with an hour wait on the freezing cold station platform! Yes, an hour! We decided, in our wisdom, that we ought to leave nice and early in case the forecast snow hindered our journey. How wrong we were! We flew through the twenty minute journey in twenty minutes! So we had a long, cold wait at a train station with no café, not even a drinks machine! What a start!

Next up was the battle for seats on the train. We spent the first ten minutes blocking the doorway with the six of us, and enough luggage each for a fortnight in the sun! As soon as we saw a couple vacate their seats, my friend and I practically shoved them out of the way to bag them, despite us being the youngest two members of our party! We left the others to fend for themselves. Another stop later and the table opposite us was free, so again, we leapt up, called down the carriage to where the other four had sat and claimed the table. Then came the great debate...

We spent a good quarter of an hour discussing whether we were allowed to drink on the train. We'd packed a bag full of lager especially for the journey. My theory was, they sell it on board the train, therefore you must be allowed to drink it! But we weren't sure, so being the sensible people we are, we Googled it! Yes we can, as long as we remain sensible. There were no guarantees, but we'd give it our best shot! So out come the stumpys, bought specifically for their convenient size and twist off caps. Or so we thought! Apparently we'd bypassed the twisty caps and bought regular bottle caps instead! Of course, no one had a bottle opener (why would you when you've got twist off caps?!) We were about to give up when one of the girls admitted she could do it with her teeth! Cue us other five squealing like girls and saying 'ewwwww, you're such a man!' But hey, manly or not, we got into our lagers! 

So, that was the journey. We arrived at Euston relatively in tact. We then had to navigate the tube, half drunk, with our mountains of luggage during what I imagine to be one of the busiest times, Friday evening! Oh, and four of the others had never been on the tube before! That was a fun experience! Somehow we made it to the hotel, checked in, and then continued our little party in our room. The aim was an early night so we were up and ready to hit the shops first thing. This actually turned into us still being up drinking at 2am! Oops! 

Saturday was not quite the early start we'd hoped for. And none of us were really in much of a state to be shopping, so instead we decided to go to Harrods. Not the best idea, we got lost in there several times! I'm pretty sure we looked as rough as we felt, because we received a fair few funny looks. And after being told off by security for lingering too long in the doorway (we couldn't decide whether we needed to go up or down to get to where we wanted) we decided to just leave. It was far too posh for a bunch of hungover women anyway! 

We went for a mooch round Covent Garden instead. Then we eyeballed the pub, and almost in unison 'pint?' Why not! We had a couple of hours to kill before show time, what better way to spend it than in the pub!

And that's where I think I'll leave you. I'll tell the rest of the story next time.

To be continued...

I'm going to London, to buy a Heat magazine! :-D

As the title says, I'm off to London this afternoon for a girl's weekend. Two nights of peace and quiet. And by peace and quiet, I mean lots of wine and childish pranks between a group of 6 women ranging in age from 26 to 50! You'd think we'd have grown up a bit by now! 

But peace and quiet from the children it will be. No 'but Mummy, I'm not tired yet', or being woken at midnight for a cuddle, or having to get up at 5.30am because 'it's wakey up time'!!! I will be able to shower by myself (a rare novelty in my house) and will actually have time to apply my make-up instead of the usual slick of mascara I generally rely on to make me look remotely presentable! No matter how much I adore my children, I need the occasional weekend to myself to preserve what's left of my sanity!

Then, on the other hand, I can guarantee I will be pining for them before the train has even left the station! It will take all my strength (or my friend stealing my phone!) to stop myself from calling every hour to make sure everything's ok. It's not even that their dad isn't able to cope. In fact he copes better than I do at times! I just like to know exactly what my babies are doing. Are they hungry? Has the little one had a sleep? Have you wrapped them up well enough to play out in the cold? Of course, I already know the answer to all of my questions, my husband's not stupid after all. 

I have, however, prepared outfits for the children. Goodness knows what they'd end up wearing if I didn't! They'd probably still be in their pyjamas from tonight when I return home on Sunday. My husband just doesn't seem to get that my daughter really can't wear her yellow top with her pink trousers, or that leggings must ONLY be worn with tops that cover the bum. It's really not too difficult! But it just makes his life easier if I get their clothes out ready for them. He won't get it in the neck for getting it wrong then. 

So, London. I can't wait! We'll arrive by tea time tonight, have a nice relaxed evening with a few glasses of wine and a bite to eat. Then tomorrow we'll be hitting the shops first thing, followed by the matinée performance of We Will Rock You. I have promised my friend that I won't sing along (she thinks we're far too young!), but I was brought up on Queen! I'm not sure I'll be able to hold it in, haha! Not entirely sure what our plans for after the show are. Most likely some of the afore mentioned childish pranks will feature! Then Sunday will be more shops, a bit of lunch and then a mid afternoon train home. 

I'm sure I'll have an anecdote or two to tell for my next blog. I'll look forward to sharing my weekend with you all when I get back.