Choccy!
My last day in Brussels was quiet as I was pretty exhausted from my big day in Amsterdam the day before! I wandered around the centre of town a bit more and found the Galeries Royales where there are heaps of amazing chocolate shops. Woah. I picked out a few choccies for people at home in one of them (they might get home) and meandered my way back to the hotel through the malls. The Flower Carpet was due to open the next day, but there wasn’t anything to see there yet.
Galeries Royales
The only major excitement before leaving Brussels was finding that my new case, bought for this trip, had started to fall apart, necessitating a quick run down to the local shop for straps to hold it together until London, where my fabulous hubby was meeting me with one of my spares! (and due to the rigours of whinging on social media, the company has already given me a refund for the case)
So off I went to the station to catch the Eurostar. I was intrigued to be doing customs and passport control on the European side, and “left” Brussels earlier than anticipated! But I managed to waste some time in “Britain” in the waiting room, finding an ubiquitous snow dome of the Manneken Pis.
And off we went! Second class was a bit squishy, and the small child behind me seemed addicted to kicking my chair, but the journey was largely uneventful. I did have a bit of a dopey moment, forgetting the time difference between the two countries, thinking that the train would take one hour instead of two, and was momentarily confused that we’d been chugging our way for almost the whole hour and we hadn’t gone through the Chunnel yet. Ah. Yes. Because I hadn’t put my clock back beforehand. 🙂
Wending my way with damaged suitcase in tow through the vagaries of the London tube system gave me a huge sympathy for people who can’t access stairs. Exploring deserted tunnels through the bowels of the earth was fun once or twice, but it got a bit tedious after the second change of train and searching for the escalator or lift (which are non-existent at some stations!)
I got to the Novotel Excel soon enough, although the drizzle made things a bit more exciting. I dumped my stuff and went off to find R at Worldcon, being held at the Excel convention centre. This is a huuuuge building that lasts the entire distance between two train stations!
The convention is pretty huge – around the ten thousand member mark apparently! A few interesting costumes wandering around, and lots of people buying books.
The Globe
Apart from the convention, I haven’t done terrible much in London. We went out to see Antony and Cleopatra at The Globe on one night, which was fantastic. It was made even more fabulous, strangely, by the fact that one of the actors (Cleopatra – not an insignificant part!) was unwell and had to be covered by another actor using a script. She did an *amazing* job, and the one or two moments (in the entire three hour production) where she lost her place just made it more human and warm. I think the best bit was when she was supposed to be helping to put on Antony’s armour, and she handed him the script to hold. He handed it back and pointed out the place on the page, which set the audience off in giggles.
The Globe
Great atmosphere there – lots of people just enjoying the show, and the fact that they encourage you to bring drinks from the bar etc into the theatre just made things more relaxed and fun for all. I definitely recommend hiring a cushion though – the benches are quite solid!
The view from The Swan
Lovely dinner afterwards at The Swan restaurant next door. They have a pre- and post- show menu of three courses for 25 pounds, which was tasty. Great view, too.
V&A Fashion gallery
The other non-con highlight was my afternoon off, when I headed out to the V&A Museum to take in the Fashion exhibition, which keen readers might remember was closed for renovations last time I was in town. Luckily this time it was open, or there would have been stamping of feet! Some great pieces there.
V&A Fashion gallery
After this I met up with a friend who has moved to London, A, for high tea at the Langham. This was pretty impressive (and pretty pricey!) Lots of tasty food, and if you are still hungry, they bring you more!
Tea and bubbles – what a choice!
The gluten free high tea was pretty extensive – sandwiches, scones (yum!) and sweet treats. I waddled out of there with great difficulty.
GF sandwiches
GF sweet treats
Two Weeks Away 