Relaxing, Applauding, Cooking

Flour fight aftermath a couple of days ago. Irrelevant to today's blog.
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I woke up early today planning on heading out to Stonehenge.  I was much too lazy to find out the times of the trains and didn't bother checking.  Instead, I took a bus to Oxford Circus to head out to Hyde Park.  While I was at the bus stop, I realized that the bus I was going to catch goes to Regent's Park.  So I changed my agenda and decided to relax there.  I brought some reading material and my camera.

Regent's Park was so beautiful!  I entered from the southeast corner where there were well kept gardens and fountains.  The walk to the northeast side was beautiful and relaxing.  It was large enough that the city sounds didn't permeate through.  Lots of people brought their dogs unleashed, joggers ran about, and locals were lounging on benches that lined the walkways.  The weather was questionable in the morning.  By the time I reached the park, the blue skies were peaking through the clouds and the sun seemed to wake up as lazily as I did.

I would say the theater has been my favorite part of the trip thus far.

Southeast entrance to Regent's Park. So beautiful. The bus took my right there from Gt Dover.
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The London Zoo is located in the park as well but from what I saw through the fences it didn't look great.  I ate lunch at a nearby sushi place which was soooo tasty.  I had sashimi, sushi, and tempura (spelled tenpura) with some green tea and miso soup.  I headed back to the park towards the center whereQueen Mary's Gardens were.  I found a very picturesque fountain and sat on a nearby bench, whipped out a Geopolitics book, took off my shoes and jacket, and proceeded to assume the slouch position.  I camped out for a couple of hours there until I decided to walk into Piccadilly Circus.

The gardens at Regent's
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On the bus, I saw plenty of shops on Regent's St. that looked interesting.  I walked along Regent's Street and ended up in Piccadilly Circus.  I was about to look for a bus to go home but I saw a man holding a sign advertising half-off theater tickets.  I decided to investigate.  I inquired about the shows I was interested in (Phantom, Les Mis, Lion King, Chicago, Stomp) and found out that Les Miserables had the best deals going on.  I bought a 60 pound ticket for 35.  The show didn't start until 7:30 so I hung out at Burger King reading more on Geopolitics.  I sat in N5 which was on the first tier front right side.  It was a great seat!  The four to my right remained open throughout the show.

My excitement couldn't be contained
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Queen's Theater was smaller than I imagined a theater to be.  I would guess the crowd was about 500 strong separated into three tiers.  About 10 minutes into the show I had to remember that I wasn't watching a movie!  The music was great, singing fantastic, and stage effects were perfect!  It's as if they've done it for years.  Actually Les Miserables has been running for 21 years now!  I found out that the cast changes at least once a year (Sacha saw it a year ago and described a different main character).  It's the longest show running in London.  I believe I've seen it before in Hawaii.

Plenty of these fountains sprouting around in the park.
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I had a bit of ice cream at the intermission.  Luckily, I wasn't coughing at all during the show.  By the way, don't worry my cough is very minor and is probably due to the weather or something.

When the show ended I went back to the main entrance and bought the soundtrack.  The CDs they were selling were sung by the current cast and I loved them.  It was three hours long and I got out at 10:30.  I caught the bus home and proceeded to make some dinner.

As with anything I cook, it's an impromptu manner.  Today I decided to finish off whatever I had in my fridge = chicken and potatoes.  I cut up the chicken (raw) and sliced the potatoes.  Put them into a baking pan.  I made a sauce with melted butter, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley.  I sprinkled this over the potatoes and chicken and covered with foil.  I baked at 225 celsius for 40 minutes....and Voila!  I had chicken that had....no taste whatsoever.  I guess I should have marinated it but I was so hungry that it didn't matter at all.  Also, I put too much water in the rice cooker.  But that didn't matter as well.

Lunch was delicious....it was named "Sushi" something,5 minute walk northeast of the park.
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I had a great day today.  I highly recommend the theater and am looking forward to seeing Lion King and Phantom of the Opera.  Tomorrow is a continuation of "Park Weekend" and I'll be heading out to Hyde Park, my original destination today.  I have a meeting with my professor after lunch to talk about a paper due soon (geopolitics).  Then Saturday, I'm watching Fullham vs. Newcastle play in an FA (Football Association) Cup match.  It should be good.  It'll take a lot to top off today though.  I would say the theater has been my favorite part of the trip thus far.