9/6/09

I got up super early (like 8:30) and went down to the Haymarket Theater to try to get day of tickets for "Waiting for Godot" for £10. I got there a little after it opened and there was a bit of a line. They ran out of tickets three people before me, no big deal. I had a Milkybar, which was just a white chocolate bar. It was alright.

I went to Temple Church, down in The City, which dates from the 13th century, used by the Knights Templar. The coolest part is they have effigies of knights dating from the 14th century in the floor. Other than that the church was rather typical.

In the same area is a fountain that Dickens wrote about and next to that is a building where Elizabeth I saw Shakespeare perform but I couldn't get into that.

I walked down by the Tower of London and went in the All Hallow by the Tower Church, where John Quincy Adams was married and William Penn baptized. It is the oldest church in the City of London, but was heavily bombed in the war. But one cool thing came out of that in that they dug a crypt in the 1960s and uncovered basically pristine Roman tiled floors beneath the church.

I took the long walk back, stopping for a Flake (I even got a double this time) and went into Topshop for a little but didn't find anything I could justify buying, although I love their stuff. I then met up with Heidi and we went to Devonshire Arms, a pub that the Beatles would hang out at. It is tiny and wasn't all that busy. I had a good tea and tried to pictures the Beatles sitting around, seems like a stretch (Paul is in the city now though, so maybe I'll see him).

We went down to Chinatown and got bubble teas (I had a great chocolate one) and split an order of rice. It was really good. I paid in coins, getting rid of all of mine except for two pence, so that was productive.

We tried to get returned tickets for Godot and after waiting for an hour or so we didn't get any tickets, so I'm going to try tomorrow again in the morning. There were tons of people on motorcycles driving in circles honking their horns in a protest against unfair taxes on bikers. Not a good day for that when the Tube was shut down for strikers (which makes things really inconvienent here).

We went to Getti at 42 Marylebone High Street. It was an Italian restaurant before and George Martin took the Beatles out there for a nice meal after a recording session in 1962. I had a pesto pasta dish, which was pretty great.

We went back down to Godot to try to catch Sir Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart coming out. Patrick came out but they were really strict about getting photos with the stars and about what could be signed so we just stood and watched.

Since there was some time, we decided to go down to see Jude Law again. I had something for him to sign this time, but I didn't really need another one so I got it for Emily who loves him. When Jude came by I asked him to sign it for Emily and I said that wasn't my name. He laughed and said, "I guessed as much, but you never know." He's a really great guy, poses for pictures and signs everything.

We walked back and I typed this up, very tired.