MY TRIP TO FRANCE. Part Eleven: The Queen's Theatre

Wednesday, June 6, 2012     

Day Eleven

At the train station filling out customs forms.

Today is DDay.  It marks the day 68 years ago that the Allied Forces laid down their lives to take back the free world.

Looking for the EuroStar.  Very busy train station which serves the local and international routes.

By this time 68 years ago many Allied troops had died, but some key missions had already been accomplished.  Several more weeks of tremendous struggle faced them before victory would be ours.  The French remember and celebrate their gratitude. Thank you, France, for helping us in the Revolutionary War, and thank you for remembering DDay.

Ready to board.

Our whole day entails the trip to London and using our Kleenexes while watching Les Miserables.  We got to visit a McDonalds to take pictures of the menu and the façade.  In the train station we got a hot chocolate and I learned the real name of it in French: Chocolat Chaud (pronounced shacola show) and Rachel her espresso at a Hagan Daas place in the station.  We then went upstairs to have our passports stamped and go through security. 

Energy is high.  We can't believe this is going to happen!

So we boarded the train and find ourselves rocketing across France traveling north.  The countryside zips past at often 200mph.  It is 10:50am, an overcast day.  Going so fast is an amazing experience.  It makes me a little queasy and maybe being seated backwards, where everything is moving away from you instead of towards you, makes a difference.  It really is a minor case. 

The French countryside goes by at 200 miles per hour.

The difficulty lies in mentally keeping up with the fact that in one and a half hours we have gone from the train station in Paris to beneath the English Channel.  The ride is great, the thought of being so far underground is rather troubling.  What's amazing is that this train goes back and forth leaving about once an hour until the last one leaves London back to Paris at 8 pm, which we will be on, as long as our watches are properly reset!  Which we have just done to be sure. 

We are now in the tunnel and it feels like night time.

All is dark outside except for a faint outline of a curb that runs along the tunnel wall which can barely be seen by pressing up against the window and covering your brow.  The odd thing is that is appears to be going the opposite direction!  Between the disorientation, the physics and the fascination, this is all an incredible experience for me.  Twelve minutes is all it took to cross under the channel. 

A reminder that the Summer Olympics will be in the UK.

We are now in England; my first time (outside the airport at Heathrow)! The countryside along the railway reminds Rachel and me of James Herriot’s Yorkshire.  On our way to London are tunnels, moors, city, gardens, and woodlands in a lovely maze.  Taking pictures is very hard because the windows are double thick and very dirty on the outside.  The camera picks up a fair amount of reflection and dirt.  The countryside is hazy.  We are scheduled to arrive in four minutes.  We are still going very fast!

On the streets of London.

Once off the train we started walking in the direction of the theater.  Not far from the train station we came upon a Falafel place.  We not only ate the most delicious falafel, couscous, special salads and sauces and that it was inexpensive, but the best part was the man who owned it.  He looked Greek or Turkish (where falafel comes from)  and talked with me while Rachel went to find an ATM because they did not take a debit card.  He was very friendly, a great host. 

A phone booth is always within sight in this part of London.

Then we started walking and eventually found the theater.  We went breathless as we approached The “Queens Theater”, and got our printed ticket.  We were an hour early so we sat at a coffee shop and stared at our tickets.  We couldn’t believe we were there and it was actually going to happen! 

The movie musical Oliver! could have been filmed right here.  Looks just like the scene during "Who Will Buy?".

The streets in London are a different kind of busy.  Less fast but more pedestrians.  The cars are on the left side of the road and caused great confusion for us.  Apparently we are not the only ones, because we noticed that written on the street, just when one would step off the sidewalk, are the words “LOOK LEFT” or “LOOK RIGHT”.  I must say it really helped. 

This salad plate we shared in the Falafel place was fabulous.

We went into the theater and sat down.  Our seats were in the back part of the theater on the floor level.  A small part of the top of the stage area was obstructed by the lower balcony.  Fortunately, this caused no interference of consequence.   

Directions like this saved our lives more than once.  Most of them said Look Right.

Seated beside me was an English woman named Pat.  The conversation began as soon as I sat down when I asked her if she had seen the show before.  She hadn’t, even though she lives in London.  Her husband does not like musicals and so she finally decided she would come see it on her own.  So here she was sitting next to me.  We spent the time before the play and the intermission becoming friends.  Rachel took our picture so I can remember what she looked like. 

An ambulance in London.

Rachel was really excited to see it.  She has never read the book but had a good idea about the story.  However, nothing could have prepared us for the amazing experience of a lifetime that Les Miserables was. 

In front of the Queen's Theatre.

It opened powerfully and never let up.  The voices were exquisite—ALL of them.  Every role was played so well I fell in love with them all—every one.  There was not one weak performance.  The two children who played young Cosette and Gavroche astounded and delighted all of us in the audience.  Their voices and their acting were as strong as any of their fellow adult cast members. 

 

Check our watches, check the tickets, pinch me!

The set was beyond our expectations by miles!  A giant turntable comprised nearly the entire stage.  It was flush with the stationary outer area of the stage floor so we did not detect it at first.  It was used for about a third of the performance, so well done that we could do nothing but be amazed.  The scene sets were beautiful yet simple. It was the actors’ movements and flow that brought the set to life.  The costumes and make up were also wonderful and I knew this because I didn’t notice them.  With many productions I’ve seen I notice costume details and make up because of my experience and love of theater.  Between the quality of the costumes and make up and the powerful performances, details fell away.  It was no wonder the room rose to give them a standing ovation.

 

My new dear friend, Pat.  Both of us are here for the first time and she lives in London!

I will not share details of the scenes because I would not want to spoil it for any reader.  But I will replay it over and over in my mind and heart for years to come.  I would sacrifice to come and see it again.  I have never seen a performance some close.  Pat, who sat beside me, said the very same thing.  I told her that "the sad part about this is..." (she became concerned when I said this) "that you will now have to bring your husband and of course you must come with him!" Delight same over her and we had a great laugh.

After the show I snap a picture from my seat.  Because of the performance, every seat is a good seat. And it was sold out!

The Queen’s Theater was beautiful.  I can’t exactly describe the lobby since it was too filled with people for me to see it on the way in and we were too thrilled going out to notice.  But the theater interior did a great justice to its name.  Our seats were red.  There was gold gilded moldings and red curtains hung in doorways.  We walked forward after the show and saw the chandelier in the center hanging.  I am not sure why it was not in the way of those in the balconies.  The domed ceiling was beautifully painted (maybe carved) in exquisite colors.  

A London lamp post on our way back to the train station.

We walked outside.  How we could ever return to real life would be the next question!  We talked about our experience all the way to the little Indian food restaurant.  It hit the spot!  We were the only ones there so we were given great service by a family of Indians.  I had a chicken and lamb curry and Rachel had a chicken dish.  Nice and spicy with delicious rice.

I can't remember what this building was, but it was one of our favorites.

So here we are on EuroStar nearing Paris again.  We have had a nice visit with our seat mate, Jean.  He works in London and lives there but comes home to spend a few days with his family twice a monthly in Paris.  He is a graduate of college and plans on furthering his degrees.  He is a student of math.  He was so nice and enjoyed visiting with the two Americans.  Again, another brief yet special friend. 

The train station.  EuroStar will take us back to Paris.  What a wonderful day!

We walked the few blocks to our Hotel room, packed up and are falling into bed at 1:00am.  Tomorrow morning our cab arrives at 6:30am so we must arise and be off before having a full night of sleep.  Rachel and I have agreed that today has been well worth the sleep deprivation.  I’m not sure we’ll still feel that way in the morning, at least not as enthusiastically.

This is taken from my travel journal.

Is the trip really over?