A Taste of London's Neighbourhoods and Musical Theatre

Jenn
Aug 20, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Aug 24, 2024

Having seen the primary London sights two days prior, we sort-of shifted gears and indulged in other types of touristy sight-seeing.

Feet were sore (some more than others), but we had to maximize our London Pass, so there was only a slight change to our pace. We woke up earlier than we've been able to so far because timed entries demanded it. This resulted in some minor consequences later in the day, I'll tell you all about it, but not yet. Here's what we did:

Madame Tussauds

It's a must-visit location with the kids. Explaining a wax museum to kids that haven't been to a wax museum is amusing. What do you mean wax? Like a museum with a bunch of candles? Candles that look like people? What the what? They have seen wax figures before, so we explained to them that time we saw movie star figures in store entrances down in LA. Ah, ok got it.

We had a great time at Madame Tussauds, everyone found favourites to pose with: Han Solo, Annakin Skywalker, Posh and Becks, Harry Styles, S with Taylor Swift and her future boss Steven Spielberg, B with Ronaldo and all the James Bonds, the adult S with Kylie Minogue and some cricket player I don't know about, and me with ET. No laughing, I love ET and always will. I remember wanting to be Elliot when I was little. Overall, the experience was perfectly ridiculous and the wax figures were exceptional (and many were so damn tall, are they really all that tall in real life, or do they embellish a little?).

Hop-on Hop-off Bus

Yes, I know some people may feel it's too much of a tourist trap to go on these buses, but it was included in our pass, our feet were requesting the rest, and it's a chill way to do a giant loop of London while a recording tells you all the things in your headphones. Not so chill is getting seats up at the top of the bus, it really does require some polite strategizing and turn-taking otherwise you will be pushed out of the way by those who aggressively non-strategize.

Scott and I stayed awake for the whole loop. It was interesting and the weather was lovely. S and B however showed signs of the extra-early wake up and fell asleep for much of the loop, hence part 1 of the consequences I mentioned above. It's ok though, they needed the rest and we were all very comfortable.

Wicked, the Musical

We bought these tickets before departing on our trip, and for extra bonus it was kids' week! This means the kids got into the musical for free. We had excellent seats in the circle, just off to the right and could see beautifully. Two of us didn't know the plot at all, I had a general idea, and S knew the first act. Without spoiling it for anyone, the first act set up the relationship between the two witches and how they arrived in Oz. I'm so glad I had a general idea, because this is when I accidentally took two power naps (consequences, part II). It may be illegal to fall asleep, even for a little, during the West End's number 1 show. Luckily I was only busted by my kid. It honestly was not the show, it was me. Adult S was equally guilty too. That's why it's great to have a theatre-crazy kid: to whack us on the arm and wake us up. By the second act I was fully alert, and I found the ending particularly moving, unexpected and bitter-sweet.

Notting Hill, Picaddilly Circus, Marylebone, South Kensington

Over 40,000 steps have been walked to see this. It's true the best way to get to know any place is by walking. We saw many areas of London we wouldn't have otherwise seen, some that we did not personally connect with (the fancy area and designer stores near Harrods), and some that scored high on the adorable scale (Notting Hill).

Let's talk about Notting Hill. Cute, charming, quaint, colourful, and overflowing with people (likely, mostly tourists like us). I think of the small city we live in back home, how much it has changed over the last 15 years and how prices have increased, and wondered how Notting Hill was affected by the movie that made it extra popular before the days of Instagram. I can only imagine the change in real estate prices. That said, I enjoyed the walk down Portobello Road and visiting the many stalls. We were proper tourists and bought the surprisingly handy and sturdy Notting Hill Shopping Bag and are now using it to cart around some snacks and groceries.

Shrek, the Musical

This was a last-minute ticket purchase. We had a choice between Back to the Future, Shrek, Les Miserables and Hamilton. The latter two we were excited to see, but the last minute prices were less exciting and not really more economical. Shrek however, which B was keen to see, had some great seats at very reasonable prices. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy it, but the musical was laugh-out-loud funny. Who doesn't want to watch a musical that celebrates farting contests but without having to endure the smell? Everybody wins! Additionally, the entire cast was extraordinarily talented. I've never been to a musical where the ensemble shone the way that this ensemble did.