Instead of going to the Sherlock Holmes Museum first, I decided it would make more sense if I tried for theatre tickets as soon as the tkts discount booth opened at 10 AM.
As it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered what time I had shown up; the tkts staff said that they didn't sell any Wicked tickets (!), and that the cheapest seat they had for Les Misérables - my second choice - was 30 quid. 30 quid! [£30 is about $60.] And this from the official half-price ticket booth!
Well, that was enough of that. There were some unofficial, somewhat sketchy discount ticket booths around the area that were reportedly selling Wicked tickets for £18.25, but, well, they were unofficial and somewhat sketchy.
Feeling rather discouraged, I made my way up to Baker Street. Lots of Sherlock Holmes iconage here, though I've the feeling that most of the shop owner just put an image of Holmes on their door in hopes of attracting more shoppers.
I ordered a full English breakfast at an outdoor café just across the street from the Sherlock Holmes Museum for breakfast/lunch, which is: one sausage, one egg, bacon, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, beans, and two piece of buttered toast with tea. Right after I ordered it, I had a moment of panic when I realized that I probably couldn't finish it all and there was no one to offer the leftovers to. However, it was very good and I got through everything except for part of the sausage and part of the bacon. The fried mushrooms and tomatoes were surprisingly delicious, though I don't think I could ever get used to seeing baked beans as a breakfast food. Also, the bacon was strange -- it wasn't cut into strips, but served like a slice of ham, though it did taste like bacon.
After I paid for my meal, I walked across the street to the Sherlock Holmes Museum gift shop. I knew I would probably be spending quite a bit of money there, but I agonized over exactly what to buy for at least fifteen minutes. I rather wanted a deerstalker cap, but wasn't prepared to pay 20 quid for it [$40], so I bought a keychain, a Holmes figurine, and a magnet for my dad instead. I also bought my ticket to go into the actual museum.
The Sherlock Holmes Museum was larger than I thought it would be, and all of it was beautifully done. The first floor was a recreation of Holmes' and Watson's study and Holmes' bedroom, the second floor was Watson's bedroom and Mrs. Hudson's room, the third floor had life-size recreations of some of the people from various Holmes stories, and the fourth floor had a water closet and an attic area. You could sit on the chairs or beds and touch almost everything - I plucked Holmes' violin, which was actually mostly in tune - though I was too embarrassed to be geeky and ask someone to take my photo while wearing the deerstalker cap and using the pipe and magnifying glass they had in the study.
Instead of going straight back to the tube station after the museum, I decided to go up to Regent's Park and walk around for a little. I even splurged a little and bought some vanilla ice cream to eat on the way. Regent's Park was lovely - the loveliest I've been to so far, though it seems like there are parks scattered everywhere in London - and I even ran into a wedding reception while there. I thought of waking up to the London Zoo, but decided it was too far and headed back to the tube.
Before going back to the flats, I got off at Hyde Park Corner to take photos of the statue of Achilles they have there and walk up the east side of the park to Speakers' Corner, which was rater empty.
Tomorrow, I think I might stop in Trafalgar Square before taking the boat to Greenwich; it shouldn't take too long and it's fairly easy and quick to get where you need to go when the metro is running.
As it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered what time I had shown up; the tkts staff said that they didn't sell any Wicked tickets (!), and that the cheapest seat they had for Les Misérables - my second choice - was 30 quid. 30 quid! [£30 is about $60.] And this from the official half-price ticket booth!
Well, that was enough of that. There were some unofficial, somewhat sketchy discount ticket booths around the area that were reportedly selling Wicked tickets for £18.25, but, well, they were unofficial and somewhat sketchy.
Feeling rather discouraged, I made my way up to Baker Street. Lots of Sherlock Holmes iconage here, though I've the feeling that most of the shop owner just put an image of Holmes on their door in hopes of attracting more shoppers.
I ordered a full English breakfast at an outdoor café just across the street from the Sherlock Holmes Museum for breakfast/lunch, which is: one sausage, one egg, bacon, fried tomatoes, fried mushrooms, beans, and two piece of buttered toast with tea. Right after I ordered it, I had a moment of panic when I realized that I probably couldn't finish it all and there was no one to offer the leftovers to. However, it was very good and I got through everything except for part of the sausage and part of the bacon. The fried mushrooms and tomatoes were surprisingly delicious, though I don't think I could ever get used to seeing baked beans as a breakfast food. Also, the bacon was strange -- it wasn't cut into strips, but served like a slice of ham, though it did taste like bacon.
After I paid for my meal, I walked across the street to the Sherlock Holmes Museum gift shop. I knew I would probably be spending quite a bit of money there, but I agonized over exactly what to buy for at least fifteen minutes. I rather wanted a deerstalker cap, but wasn't prepared to pay 20 quid for it [$40], so I bought a keychain, a Holmes figurine, and a magnet for my dad instead. I also bought my ticket to go into the actual museum.
The Sherlock Holmes Museum was larger than I thought it would be, and all of it was beautifully done. The first floor was a recreation of Holmes' and Watson's study and Holmes' bedroom, the second floor was Watson's bedroom and Mrs. Hudson's room, the third floor had life-size recreations of some of the people from various Holmes stories, and the fourth floor had a water closet and an attic area. You could sit on the chairs or beds and touch almost everything - I plucked Holmes' violin, which was actually mostly in tune - though I was too embarrassed to be geeky and ask someone to take my photo while wearing the deerstalker cap and using the pipe and magnifying glass they had in the study.
Instead of going straight back to the tube station after the museum, I decided to go up to Regent's Park and walk around for a little. I even splurged a little and bought some vanilla ice cream to eat on the way. Regent's Park was lovely - the loveliest I've been to so far, though it seems like there are parks scattered everywhere in London - and I even ran into a wedding reception while there. I thought of waking up to the London Zoo, but decided it was too far and headed back to the tube.
Before going back to the flats, I got off at Hyde Park Corner to take photos of the statue of Achilles they have there and walk up the east side of the park to Speakers' Corner, which was rater empty.
Tomorrow, I think I might stop in Trafalgar Square before taking the boat to Greenwich; it shouldn't take too long and it's fairly easy and quick to get where you need to go when the metro is running.
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