They offered a pre-theatre dinner which allowed us to enjoy a nice leisurely dinner without having to be rushed to make it over to the theatre. You had a choice of either a two course or a three course dinner. Our only surprise was that it was actually a buffet. Our preference is to avoid buffets preferring 100% table service but also so as not to overindulge. With that said, the choices that were available were quite good, the food was kept very warm and we didn't overdue it.
We are sorry we didn't get any photos showing the are more complete view of the dining room as it was quite beautiful including the chandelier. This is a view just of us and our table.
We went with two rather than three courses, and skipped the dessert course. Yes, we realize that some might have opted that dessert be one of the two courses but we went with salad as our first course and an entree with sides as our second and main course.
There were lots of choices for the first course including not only leafy vegetables but an array of others vegetables including grilled vegetables. This is a photo of Keith's salad.
When it was time for our entree, they called the chef over and he went through each of the main entrees with us and then served us not only the main entree but the sides we selected. There was beef and Yorkshire putdding, pork, fish, lobster and three or four other choices. We each went with the fish which happened to be sea bass but prepared differently than it was where we dined the night before. We selected several different sides including small potatoes, asparagus, string beans and peas. The food was very well prepared and very hot which the latter can be usual for a buffet.
This is a photos of Keith's second course.
Service was very nice and we thoroughly enjoyed the food.
We had a few minutes to freshen up after dinner so we went back to our room. Because of the relatively small size of the hotel the staff now all knows us by name and they pretty much know or remember what you are up to. Knowing that we were to see Bill Elliot last evening, as we were getting ready to leave and was walking through the executive lounge one of the members of the staff pulled out a program for us for the show and we asked if she could leave it for us in our room which she did.
We then walked over to the Victoria Palace Theatre where we saw the performance of Billy Elliot. This was the first time we saw this play and we did enjoy it. The nearby area is going through a lot (and we mean a lot) of construction so it was a little challenging getting to the theatre but we made it. This photo of the front of the the theatre shows one of many cranes that are part of various construction projects taking place.
While we enjoyed the play, we thought given that children actors are a big part of the production that the use of the four letter words might have been eliminated, but as they say this is not for us to decide. After the show was over we returned directly to the hotel. When we entered the suite, we saw that several candles were lit in the bedroom area and some rose petals were on our bed. Another nice touch by the Hotel staff.
We both slept well last evening, which was great news. We were better adjusted to the new time zone and pretty tired from all of the walking we did throughout the day.
As usual, Keith was up first a couple of hours before Anne Marie and as he did the day before read, wrote and enjoyed a few cups of coffee that one of the members of the staff brewed for him.
Later we had breakfast at the Executive Lounge in the Hotel, and after freshening up we spent the morning enjoying the sites of London. The weather could not make up its mind as it changed continually from being overcast and even cool to sunny and warm.
We walked from the Hotel over to the Lambeth Bridge and then we crossed the bridge.
Lambeth Bridge
We then made our way to the Imperial War Museum.
There was an extensive exhibition covering World War I which we visited. Afterwards, we visited the area covering World War II, The Falklands, and Afghanistan.
We then spent quite awhile in the area covering The Holocaust. We are reminded that The Holocaust didn't take place that long ago when one thinks about the history of the world, and that we never should forget the atrocities that were committed because if we forget it could happen again and again.
It is also a reminder that as bad as sometimes things appear today the world was a much more challenging time during that era given all of the suffering associated with World War II and the atrocities that were occurring in both Europe and in the Pacific. There is another museum that shows the number of Jewish people in each European Country and the number of Jewish people who were killed by the Nazis and that one is very sobering as well. We are also reminded that in general things that go wrong today for many of us today are minor to the suffering that so many people went through during the War. At the same time, we realize that some people today do have many challenges and we should keep them in our thoughts and prayers and try to assist them as well.
After we visited the museum we made our way over to the Westminster Bridge towards our Hotel. We stopped to pick up salads which we took back to our room. On the way to the Hotel we passed very familiar sites.
We are posting earlier than normal since this afternoon we will be going to the theatre to see the Matinee of Wicked and then we have reservations for dinner afterwards. We will post more about this tomorrow.
Keith & Anne Marie
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