Watching Movies in London
Apr. 23rd, 2001 05:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillibetWe had a very nice, relaxed weekend. On Friday evening Jason and I went
down to a pub in Trafalgar Square to meet up with some old family friends
whom I last saw in 1981. We talked and drank for a couple of hours and then
Jason and I walked up to Leicester Square with the idea that we might see a
movie. The one that would have been convenient to see was sold out. Since
movies there cost #10 per person, it occurred to me that we could probably
buy a movie and order a pizza for less money, so we walked over to the
Virgin Megastore in Picadilly Circus. They were having a big sale, so we
actually ended up with seven movies and two CDs, but now we've got loads of
entertainment available. We came home and ordered a pizza and watched
_Dirty Dancing_, which Jason had never seen.
Our current guests are my sister Anne's co-worker, Helen, and her daughter,
Esther, who is ten. On Saturday morning Jason and I went with them to the
National Gallery. I had a lot of fun calling Esther's attention to things I
thought she would find interesting and I had enough success that we actually
made it through most of the museum before boredom and hunger really set in.
She had found a Mongolian barbecue place in the guidebook that she thought
sounded interesting and Jason and I had been meaning to try it, having
walked past it a few times, so we went there and had a fun, easy lunch.
(For those of you who've never tried it, it's essentially a buffet of meats,
vegetables, and various sauces. You choose your own ingredients and their
cooks fry it up for you on a huge round metal grill, supposedly inspired by
the Mongolian horde cooking on their shields.)
We left them in Covent Garden Market and came home. In the evening I made
fried chicken at Jason's request and we watched _Billy Elliot_, another of
our new acquisitions. I was severely disappointed in it. The kid was okay
and there were some interesting visual moments, but I didn't find any of the
supporting performances (even the Oscar-nominated one) notable and the plot
was hackneyed. It's a fine little piece of fluff, but I can't understand
why it got so much hype.
On Sunday I was craving one of Brown's chicken & leek pies, so we went down
to Leicester Square and got one and then saw _Chocolat_. Interestingly,
after several friends warning me that it was nothing special, I really
enjoyed it. Perhaps this is all a question of managing expectations. I
thought Johnny Depp did a very good job and, of course, Judi Dench was
incredible. After the movie we walked up Charing Cross Road and checked
into a couple of bookstores for a book my brother-in-law is hoping we'll
find. One of the things that makes navigation in London complex is that the
streets change names every few blocks. So Charing Cross Road becomes
Tottenham Court Road becomes Hampstead Road becomes Camden High Street
becaomes Chalk Farm Road, where we were meeting Helen and Esther for
dinner. We strolled the couple of miles along this stretch, stopping into
the Camden Market as they were rolling up the sidewalks, and found our
guests outside Belgo just at seven. We dined on their specialty: mussels
and beer. I actually tried their grilled mussel platter with spinach, bacon
and cheese this time and found it much less work than the traditional pot.
The one downside of our lovely day was that my ear was really hurting. It
kept me up most of the night, so I went to the doctor this morning and she
tells me that it's not infected, I've just got a blocked eustachian tube, so
decongestants should help. And, in fact, it's feeling much better this
evening.
I made my fettucine alfredo with spinach and smoked salmon for dinner and
Helen brought bread and wine olives and fruits and we had a lovely meal.
Afterwards, Todd called Jason and Helen insisted on washing all the dishes
and reading while I played Trivial Pursuit with Esther, which was loads of fun.
It's been really great having a chance to get to know Esther on this trip.
They leave tomorrow and then our focus will shift to our trip to Scandinavia
on Saturday.
down to a pub in Trafalgar Square to meet up with some old family friends
whom I last saw in 1981. We talked and drank for a couple of hours and then
Jason and I walked up to Leicester Square with the idea that we might see a
movie. The one that would have been convenient to see was sold out. Since
movies there cost #10 per person, it occurred to me that we could probably
buy a movie and order a pizza for less money, so we walked over to the
Virgin Megastore in Picadilly Circus. They were having a big sale, so we
actually ended up with seven movies and two CDs, but now we've got loads of
entertainment available. We came home and ordered a pizza and watched
_Dirty Dancing_, which Jason had never seen.
Our current guests are my sister Anne's co-worker, Helen, and her daughter,
Esther, who is ten. On Saturday morning Jason and I went with them to the
National Gallery. I had a lot of fun calling Esther's attention to things I
thought she would find interesting and I had enough success that we actually
made it through most of the museum before boredom and hunger really set in.
She had found a Mongolian barbecue place in the guidebook that she thought
sounded interesting and Jason and I had been meaning to try it, having
walked past it a few times, so we went there and had a fun, easy lunch.
(For those of you who've never tried it, it's essentially a buffet of meats,
vegetables, and various sauces. You choose your own ingredients and their
cooks fry it up for you on a huge round metal grill, supposedly inspired by
the Mongolian horde cooking on their shields.)
We left them in Covent Garden Market and came home. In the evening I made
fried chicken at Jason's request and we watched _Billy Elliot_, another of
our new acquisitions. I was severely disappointed in it. The kid was okay
and there were some interesting visual moments, but I didn't find any of the
supporting performances (even the Oscar-nominated one) notable and the plot
was hackneyed. It's a fine little piece of fluff, but I can't understand
why it got so much hype.
On Sunday I was craving one of Brown's chicken & leek pies, so we went down
to Leicester Square and got one and then saw _Chocolat_. Interestingly,
after several friends warning me that it was nothing special, I really
enjoyed it. Perhaps this is all a question of managing expectations. I
thought Johnny Depp did a very good job and, of course, Judi Dench was
incredible. After the movie we walked up Charing Cross Road and checked
into a couple of bookstores for a book my brother-in-law is hoping we'll
find. One of the things that makes navigation in London complex is that the
streets change names every few blocks. So Charing Cross Road becomes
Tottenham Court Road becomes Hampstead Road becomes Camden High Street
becaomes Chalk Farm Road, where we were meeting Helen and Esther for
dinner. We strolled the couple of miles along this stretch, stopping into
the Camden Market as they were rolling up the sidewalks, and found our
guests outside Belgo just at seven. We dined on their specialty: mussels
and beer. I actually tried their grilled mussel platter with spinach, bacon
and cheese this time and found it much less work than the traditional pot.
The one downside of our lovely day was that my ear was really hurting. It
kept me up most of the night, so I went to the doctor this morning and she
tells me that it's not infected, I've just got a blocked eustachian tube, so
decongestants should help. And, in fact, it's feeling much better this
evening.
I made my fettucine alfredo with spinach and smoked salmon for dinner and
Helen brought bread and wine olives and fruits and we had a lovely meal.
Afterwards, Todd called Jason and Helen insisted on washing all the dishes
and reading while I played Trivial Pursuit with Esther, which was loads of fun.
It's been really great having a chance to get to know Esther on this trip.
They leave tomorrow and then our focus will shift to our trip to Scandinavia
on Saturday.
