Okay here is my little travelogue from my second London trip this year (I don't think it will be the last ;D)
After arrving on Thursday at my friends place we headed back to London for dinner and ended up in a Swiss restaurant - it belongs to a small chain called Tibits and is a vegeterian restaurant which I can highly recommend not only for vegeterians. The location is also very nice - it's in Heddon Street in the Regent Street Food Quarter
www.tibits.co.uk/e/We strolled along Regent Street
towards Picadilly and then slowly back over Hungerford Bridge to Waterloo to catch the train to where my friend lives.
So here's me (you don't get a better picture of me - I will not torture you ;D) on Hungerford Bridge with the Southbank and National Theatre (the blue building) in the back.
We had quite an early night as we both had to get up early (my friend for going to work and I to meet lovethemanrs to watch Rockn'Roll)
So shortly after 9.am. I met lmrs under the big clock at Waterloo Station, and I think she will agree with me that we got along very well right from the start.
I was better with the tube (except for one little incident a bit later
) and she was better with reading street maps, so together we found Blythe House where the archive was, right away. It really looked a bit like a prison from the outside, we had to give our names at a turnstile and then could walk on to the reception where we got some temporary badges and were lead through at least 3 doors which could only be opened with the badges.
But in the reading room everything was easy and we were set up immediately. The screen is small and the picture is grainy but it was okay. We got headphones and watched the play. I really enjoyed it and sometimes we laughed out loud. I will post more about the play in the RnR thread. But it was wonderful and Rufus looked really weird in some of the scenes
We made our way back and at Earls Court tube station, while lmrs was already in the tube, I managed to get my little backpack squeezed in between the closing doors. So there I was standing on the platform, trying to pull out my backpack
. Then the door opened again, I got my bag and then managed to board the train. Everyone inside was grinning.
Back in Picadilly we strolled throuh Soho (you never know who you are going to run into) and had lunch in a chinese restaurant.
The afternoon flew by and at 5pm we met my friend at the Southbank for dinner as she and I were going to see Hamlet at the NT in the evening.
I sadly had to say goodbye to lmrs but I'm sure we'll meet again.
thanks again for the very pretty bracelet and the cute Rufus bear
Hamlet was fantastic again - (I had already seen it twice). We waited at the stage door afterwards but Rory Kinnear was elusive. The last train was delayed due to an attack on a member of the staff and we ended up making our journey home by train and a taxi - and were dead tired when we got to her flat by 1.45 am.
Saturday - early morning again, as we wanted to queue for £20 day tickets for Flare Path at 10.am. We were lucky and got two front row seats in the center for the matinee.
Somehow we ended up at the NT box office and asked if there were day tickets for the evening performance of Hamlet. Two tickets in first row center
- we couldn't say no.
We enjoyed the warm sunny day near the stage door and finally got a chance to meet Rory Kinnear and to express how much we admired his performance.
Then we hurried over to the west end, and after a bite to eat took our seats in the first row at the Theater Royal Haymarket.
Flare Path is really wonderful, moving, funny, sad, heartbreaking. Just everything you want in a play. And James Purefoy was in some scenes about 3 meters away from us
(sorry Rufus but while you were elusive I had to seek some comfort elsewhere ;D)
Anyway as already mentioned we met him afterwards at the stage door as he was coming out with Sienna Miller. Photos don't do him justice he looks much better in person and I didn't have the good sense to actually ask for a picture because we felt that he was in a hurry. But I snapped 3 pics when we walked away.
That's the best one I've got
Then off to dinner and then Hamlet again. Back at the flat watching some films and stuff and chatting.
Sunday it was already time to leave again - till the next time. Hopefully with some more Rufus. Thanks again lmrs for your company, it was so nice to chat about Rufus with a fellow Ruffian.
Sorry this got a bit long - if you all get through this until the end I congratulate you ;D
Oh and as mentioned somewhere I've brought something home - will try to finish editing it over Easter - well some of you can guess what it is. I have been naughty again
at the archive.
, Rumantic! How wonderful for your step-daughter! (And you definitely MUST go visit her!) 
(sorry Rufus but while you were elusive I had to seek some comfort elsewhere ;D)
