JustJess
Working for the same host family for a longer period of time has its perks. I am not at all talking about money or any other benefits that might come to mind, but about the trust you built with the host kids and their parents. At some point, they might even ask you to go and pick up their kid in a foreign country. And that’s how I, after five years, got to visit London again.
I mentioned in the previous chapter that my older two children went to English camps. The boy went to Ireland and the girl to Brighton, the UK. Because she is only twelve years old (almost 13, to be exact) she can not travel alone by plane. So in the middle of June, her father took her to London and at the end of the month, I was the one to go and pick her up.
No need to say I was quite ecstatic about this arrangement. Because my host family is not the: “go there, pick her up and get back immediately” kind. They were like: “If you want, you can go there earlier and take some time to visit London. We will take care of Miss M. in the meantime.” So I bought the plane ticket for Wednesday and my host family bought a return ticket on Saturday, when I was meeting miss E. (the middle child).
On the 27th of June 2022 I packed my suitcase and headed from Geneva to London. I admit I was terrified they would cancel my flight, because of the crisis that the aerial industry was going through during the past two months. Gatwick airport together with easyjet company were ones of the most affected and sure, I was heading to Gatwick and taking an easyjet plane. But I was lucky that day, because the plane only had a 30 minutes delay and I landed in London before I even realized I was in the air.
But that wasn’t the only thing I should have dreaded that day. Because on that very date there was an industrial strike on British railway, meaning that most of the trains were suspended or running in limited numbers. And the same strike was about to happen on Saturday, when I was to come back home. Just my luck.
My advantage against this misfortune was my best friend to whom I was heading to for 3 nights in the UK. She’s been living there for the past 10 years and it was easy for her to navigate me through the London traffic, using other sorts of transportation. The only problem would be to get from the Gatwick Airport to the city center. I was lucky this time, because I was there early enough to catch the last train running to London, before the strike would cancel every connection until the morning.
After I got to London Bridge train station, taking the Tube and the DLR to get where I needed to get, was quite easy. London’s public transportation is surprisingly very easy to understand, despite the high number of lines and possibilities. But I just couldn’t get over the fact how small the metro cars in London actually are. If they were a little smaller I would probably get claustrophobic. But I managed to get through and ended up in the arms of my best childhood friend.
I haven’t seen Ivet for almost 3 years. The last time, she visited me in the Czech Republic, just a few months before covid-19 misery had started. But so many things have changed in the meantime. Back then, she was freshly with a new boyfriend and now she is engaged and planning a wedding. If things continue like this, I’ll soon be the only one unmarried from all my friends. Not that I really mind, but the social pressure is getting palpable.
My friend, as a Londoner she is, had a program prepared for the two days I was to spend there. We decided to take it easy, because I visited her there 5 years ago and then we ran around all the famous monuments. So this time, I just wanted to spend some time with Ivet and maybe see a bit of the city as a bonus.
On Thursday morning, we started by taking a walk in Greenwich park and then we boarded a cruise ship heading to the city center. My friend never took a cruise in the 10 years of her stay so we were both feasting on the city landscape. London from this perspective is quite impressive, especially, when you are out of the very center. From one point of view, I could call the view almost ugly, because from the perspective of someone who is used to looking at blue lakes and green mountains, it looks really monochrome. But from another point of view? The architecture is quite fascinating. The traditional, almost copy like houses take turns with modern and peculiar buildings which would take years to imprint into my memory. Somehow, I found them exciting. But I guess it’s like that with most of the things we are not used to seeing daily.
While we were slowly moving on the Thames river we were constantly crossing Uber boats, which serve as a fast way to get from one place to another. They are the water variant of a city bus. It was almost funny to watch, how the uber boat accelerated and was away within a few seconds while we were sitting on a viewing deck of a tourist cruiser. Our boat was almost empty until London Bridge, where several school groups joined in. From that moment on our view consisted mostly of teenage girls taking selfies with everything around. But I am the one to talk.
We hopped off the boat at Westminster and wandered through the city center for a while before we found a restaurant to have lunch in. They were all quite overcrowded and we tried more of them before I was finally able to satisfy my hunger for fish and chips. With a funny result: Mine is better.
The afternoon we spent in the National Gallery, which was a place I craved to see. Five years ago we missed the opportunity because of delayed trains, so I couldn’t miss it now.
I was quite surprised to see how jam-packed the place was. I wonder if it was caused by the general love for art or the free entry. Anyway, I have been out of the art history field for some time now, so I didn’t make any list of the artworks I absolutely need to see. That resulted in me being pleasantly surprised with the masterpieces I found there. ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ by Jan van Eyck, ‘Rain, steam and speed’ by William Turner and many other paintings whose stories I once knew by heart. Surprisingly, some of the facts and interpretations were still coming back to me. Even though the times when I was able to spend a whole day in the art gallery are long gone, I still take pleasure in discovering art in real life. Because there are details, which the computer screen simply can not capture right.
In the evening, the time came to fulfill one of my long term dreams: Seeing a musical show at London’s West end – the area where many legendary musical theater pieces were born. I am not sure If I ever mentioned it, but I am quite a musical nerd. I love music and I think nothing can tell a story as well as a song. Put a few of them together and you get a musical that will hold your heart forever. For the past 10 years I’ve been visiting various shows in the Czech Republic, dreaming about visiting some of the shows at the West end.
The toughest task was to choose which show. Because the number of musicals I would like to see is high and choosing just one seemed almost impossible. It would be much easier, eight years ago, when the revival show of Miss Saigon opened, as it is probably my most favorite musical. Back then, I was at the university and I was too poor to fly to London to see a musical. I was hoping that once they reopen it, I would have much more time to come and see it. But unfortunately, the production only ran for two years, to my great disappointment. Not going there, back then, is one of my greatest regrets.
But even when my beloved Miss Saigon was not a possibility, there was still a lot to choose from: Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Frozen, Wicked, Dear Evan Hansen…. I could go on and on. I personally was up for Les Mis, Frozen or Wicked. But I also needed to discuss it with my friend and her fiance. She was not up for Les Miserables and he was not up for Frozen. Which is how we ended up buying the tickets for… The Phantom of the Opera.
I wasn’t initially really happy about it. Not because I wouldn’t like the show, make no mistake, I love it with a passion, it’s in my top five (Miss Saigon, Death Note, Papežka (Pope Joan), Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera), but because I’ve seen it two times in Prague and multiple times on a screen. So, my own choice would be different. But hell, I regret nothing.
From the moment we entered Her Majesty’s theater I was like a child who got a new toy: overflowing with joy. I had to buy both catalogs and two Phantom pins. I guess my two companions must have been quite embarrassed to be around me: the musical theater nerd. If only they knew I know every single line of this theater piece.
I was afraid that I would tend to compare the 25th anniversary version of the show with what I was seeing in front of my eyes, but from the moment the famous chandelier lit up, and the legendary melody sounded through the theater, I had goosebumps all over my body and tears in my eyes. There was no space for thoughts. No matter how many times I’ve seen the 25th anniversary show, no matter that I’ve been to the show in Prague, this was something else. The scenery gave the show life, I’ve never imagined before. I was especially surprised by the set of Christine’s room, then with how realistic the underground lake with candles seemed and later on, by the large statue the Phantom stood on at the roof of the Opera. Those were the moments that felt completely new to me, even when they were somehow present in every production. I must say that the scenery of the London show is splendid. It draws you in and will not let you go until the very end.
I must also say I was really surprised by the cast. I mean, this show has been running for over 36 years at the West end and was played in 19 different languages world-wide, so you’d guess it would have some standards. But hell, such precision and perfection was surprising even for me. I’ve learned by now that a good performance takes you so deep you can not think of anything else. I found myself following Lucy St. Louis (Christine Daaé) on the stage like she was a sun in the sky. I never really thought it was possible for the role of Christine Daée to look so effortless. Lucy St. Louis makes even the highest notes of the title song sound easy which renders me speechless. I must also admit that it was also the first moment of the show when I seamingly “woke up” from my trance, because I was not actually sure if it should sound this perfect. I still can’t make up my mind about that one. I guess that is up to one’s personal taste and perception of the show.
Both Killian Donnelly as The Phantom and Rhys Whitfield as Raoul, touched me exactly where they should have had. Mr. Donnelly made me want to be his muse and Mr. Whitfield to be his chosen one. Oh man, Christine Daaé has it really hard.
The show was full of breathtaking moments. Like masquerade – The performance full of costumes and colors, the fight between The Phantom and Raoul at the cemetery, when the stage suddenly lits up by the fire from flame machines, or a simple moment when Raoul jumps down from the railing to the underground lake, you expect him to land on the stage, but instead he falls through and disappears. These are the moments that make the show so different and breathtaking.
It might seem weird that I haven’t spoken of the music of this piece even once, but this show is so well known and so praised, that I don’t know what’s there left to say. There is a reason why this show has been running for so long and why even people who don’t enjoy any theater at all, know the main melody. Andrew Lloyd Webber literally took a legend of a creature living under the Paris opera house and created another one, living and breathing in the heart of London. A legend that draws thousands and thousands of people all around the world to see it.
So even when I was a little reluctant to go and see the show I know so well, I don’t regret anything. This performance will be in my mind for a long time and I will even go as far as saying: “If you haven’t seen The Phantom in Her Majesty’s theater, you haven’t seen it at all.” (And by this I mean no offense to other productions, I was just so impressed with what I saw.)
The day after The Phantom, my friend took me to Candem Town, to see the markets. We were there five years ago as well and back then, I didn’t buy a single thing there, because I was too poor. This time, I didn’t buy a single thing because… the whole market changed a lot and the items there are much more expensive than before. But anyway, it is an impressive place, worth visiting when you are in London.
However our main goal for that day was different: visiting a wedding salon. Because my darling friend Ivet is getting married next year and is in a passionate hunt for a wedding dress. I must say I am really honored that next to her family I am the one who got to go through this experience with her. Despite being a photographer to a few weddings in the past, I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to wedding preparation in my life. Because this is different, this is my own best friend, the girl who’s been by my side from the 5th grade, the sun to my moon, who is trying on a wedding dress. I never thought I would get emotional over this, but the moment she came out of the fitting room, I had tears in my eyes and goosebumps all over my body. Next year, when the wedding comes, I’m gonna need waterproof make-up.
She didn’t buy any dress that day, but she decided on what type of dress she would like to wear. And also that she needs them to be less scratchy. 😀
After the dress fitting, my Ivet took me to a real british afternoon tea. She made a reservation at The Wallace Collection restaurant, which is a small courtyard place in the middle of the art and weapons collection. I never heard of it before and Ivet herself never visited as well, so I guess if you are not particularly searching for places to visit in London, you will not know about it. But the collection is impressive. It displays a large amount of weapons from different locations and periods and a collection of paintings. Many of them, I’m sure you would know. For example ‘The laughing cavalier’ from Frans Hals or ‘The Infanta Margarita’ from Diego Velázques. When I’ll be in London once for a longer period of time, I have to pay a little more attention to this collection. That day, we were heading there mainly to try the afternoon tea.
Having an afternoon tea basically means to overeat yourself, but I had no idea about that when coming to the restaurant. We ordered our tea and were positively surprised that during hot summer days you can also have it iced. Which probably wasn’t really typical, but in the heat of July I wasn’t definitely going to be sorry about it. Especially, when the whole restaurant is under the glass roof, making it one giant glasshouse.
Our tea arrived and a little later also our snacks. It was served on a really photogenic three palette plate. The lowest palette is the sandwiches, the middle carries the scones and the upper one sweets. It looked like it was not much food, but I was actually full after eating those sandwiches. I kinda fought to eat those scones with clotted cream and the sweets were already too much for me. My menu could have ended by the scones and I would be happy. Btw. It was my first time eating scones and clotted cream. It is a really good piece of pastry with a cream that reminds me of Swiss double cream or Italian mascarpone. But maybe the clotted cream is a bit sweeter. And super tasty.
I have read somewhere that the best way to get to know London is a ride on the second deck of a Double-Decker. I couldn’t agree more. With our bellies full from the afternoon tea, we headed to the city center and decided to take a ride. Luckily for me, the front seats on the second deck were empty, so I got a taste of a real London from this legendary bus.
There is really something about it. About the way the bus moves through the city, about the noise the drivers make when they blow the horn on one another… it is really magical. I think I could get used to living there. Living, but probably not driving. Because orienting in the traffic where everything is on the other side then I am used to… that was driving me nuts even as a pedestrian.
Our last stop that day was again in the National Gallery. But this time we went to see a paid temporary exhibition of Raphael. My boss told me about it and said that it is worth paying a visit. We were lucky to be the last two who got the tickets, before the exhibition was sold out for the day, but even so, the place was unpleasantly overcrowded. I quite understand that an institution like NG, who has no entrance fee to the permanent exhibition, needs to make some money on it, but I would probably restrict the entrance even more. There were so many people that I literally had to wait in front of every painting to see it. That really took away the impression from the great artist himself and forced me to go through the exhibition much faster then I would normally do. There was simply not enough space to enjoy it.
Nevertheless the authors of the exhibition put together an impressive cut through all the art genres Raphael devoted himself to during his quite short life. His famous paintings, drawings, architectural projects and for example tapestry, which I didn’t know were part of his occupation as well. The highlights of this exposition were: ‘Portrait of Pope Julius II.’ which surprised me by the deep sadness captured in the face of the Pope and ‘La Fornarina’ – famous portrait of a young woman.
After getting through the exposition within an hour, we headed home to enjoy one another for the last evening. It is highly probable that I won’t see Ivet again until her wedding next year, so we spent the evening eating, talking and watching romantic movies. It was so great to finally spend some time with a person who means so much to me and whom distance and covid kept away from me for such a long time.
The day after I traveled back to the airport without a problem. The strike didn’t affect the train lines I needed to use so by midday I met my host child, Miss E., as planned. It was nice to finally see her, after four weeks of holidays and English camps. But waiting at the jam-packed airport wasn’t so splendid. Traveling to London during the high season is something I will reconsider in the future. And ofcourse, our plane was late.
London 2022: In a great form, happy and with a little more curvy body. But whatever, I feel great.
When we were finally all boarded, thirty minutes later than we should have been, I thought everything was gonna be alright. But when after 10 minutes of not moving an inch the pilot spoke to us, I had to laugh out loud. He was like: ‘Hey guys, this is your captain speaking… I am really sorry about this… let’s call it ‘a mess’… I don’t know what’s happening but we can not fly yet. I am doing my best to find out and I will let you know.’ I really laughed at that and was hoping that they would not cancel our flight like they did many others during the past two months. Luckily it was not that dramatic this time. It only took the captain a few minutes to find out about the problem and deliver the news: ‘So, it looks like there is a group of four people registered on this flight and we only have three free seats. So they decided to take the next flight. But they have checked-in luggage so we have to find it and load it off the plane. But I think we will be able to leave within 15 minutes.’
But I take it positively. We took flight with a delay of only something over an hour, which for high season, our location and the aerial crisis going on, was actually a very good result.
Despite all the strikes and plane delays my London trip went exactly as planned. And for this opportunity to see my childhood friend after such a long time I owe to my amazing host family. It never ceases to amaze me how lucky I was to find them.
