London.

i love london.



i also love waterfalls with aquatic men and fish.

i have only been to london once before...and, yes, it was love.

my friend Marcie lives there.

now.



behind that blue door.

so i decide to go on a little vacation...and visit Marcie.

Wednesday Evening...

i get on the red-eye at JFK and sit next to a woman who was a backup singer for Rufus Wainwright. she has taken Clonopen to relieve anxiety and help her sleep on the plane. i have taken benadryl. she takes benadryl. i decide to take a sleeping pill. she takes a sleeping pill. i take a second sleeping pill. then i have a glass of wine.

this may have seemed like a bad idea...but we had the most incredible sleep-aid-enduced conversation about spirtuality, quantum physics, the power of now, the science of sleep and philip seymour hoffman...

then we passed out.

and woke up in...



LONDON!!!

so this trip did not have the action-adventure element of my recent maui excursion. it was more of a mellow wandering sort of adventure.

but there were many exciting things to be seen! such as...

a gaggle of little girls in red coats...



a person pretending to be a statue...



condiments...



salad...



a snowman on stilts...



a tiny car...



a mysterious phone booth...



and, of course...SLIDAYS!



please see prior entry for more info on the slidays...and humorous film clip

or just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl5JrBBY6B8

i also managed to take in a few west-end musicals.



EVITA!

starring the amazing real-life Argentinian Elena Rogers and featuring brilliant choreography by Rob Ashford -- our very own CURTAINS choreographer!! which is coming to Broadway this Spring! ((bias and shameless promotion))

i didn't realize how much i really love Evita, until goosebumps covered my little gay metatarsals the moment Eva Peron slowly walked on to the balcony to sing "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." the memories came rushing back!...buying cheap balcony seats in high school to see the touring production at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven...Madonna's brilliant death scene in the Alan Parker film...



and then i saw one of the best pieces of theatre i have ever seen. ever. in my life.




BILLY ELLIOT.

this is not a joke.

i have not cried so much in a show since i was 10 years old and was forced to play a singing "punk" squirrel with a bandana in a children's operetta called Barrington Bunny.

there were three standing ovations in the middle of the show. (billy elliot. not barrington bunny.) and let me tell you something...

brits don't stand.

it was so beautiful, moving...seriously, one of the best things i have ever seen. me crying. lots of people crying.

and an added bonus...i was sitting right across the aisle from MATT DAMON!

i love matt damon.

i love him very much.

at intermission, people were hounding him for autographs and pictures.

i just stared.

he was very nice to everyone...but i didn't want to be one of "those" people and have Matt Damon sign my Billy Elliot program. also, that doesn't make sense.

but i confess, i snuck my camera out and took this quick shot:



he looked great.

but not as great as all the christmas lights and decorations covering the city...

[CLICK on photos below for optimum viewing!!]







also, mannequins...



and wreaths...



the city of london also provides many great opportunities for spontaneous artistic photo ops...

sometimes featuring trees...




or mirrors...



or second cameras...



or just the city itself...

[seriously, CLICK ON THESE to make them larger]






everything is more beautiful in london.

even the bookstores...




and one of my favorite places -- the used book fair in front of the national film center...



...where i made a great find...




this would prove very useful when confronted with the following...



or Makay Minay...



all in all...it was a wonderful trip. no volcano bike rides or shark cages...but a nice relaxing christmas time adventure with an amazing friend. and although london can be expensive, i got a little stomach bug on saturday and sunday and saved lots of money on food. highly recommended.

the end.