Allison's Wonderland

 You know what's wrong with this country?  One word.  Well two if you put the article in front.  THE WEATHER.  The rain it haunts me here.  Seriously HAUNTS!  This country hates me.  I'll spend 3 hours cleaning in the morning while the sun is shining, birds are singing and it's a beautiful day.  The second I step out of the house to go anywhere, a torrential downpour comes out of no where and follows me all the way into town.  I don't have a car here, so I walk everywhere . . . in the rain . . . with my terrible umbrella.

Queen's Theater

I had been looking forward to going to see Les Miserables at the Queen's Theater in the West End of London town.  Met my friend Anna at the train station and once we got to London, the downpour began.  We had a wonderful dinner at Franco's Ristorante and Pizzeria, had a cup of coffee and cake at Cafe' Concerto.  We tried to get into this place called Bocca di Lupo

Food from Cafe' Concerto

(Mouth of the Wolf) which was recommended by Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor, but we were hungry at 4:30 and they didn't open till 5:15 pm.  Poop.  Next time.  After our dinner and coffee we were off to see the show.  It was absolutely amazing!  The slow motion scenes made me hold my breath because they were so spectacularly done.  The singing was amazing, acting was amazing and I have found a new favorite musical.  I have never seen Les Miserables before except a terrible version that LCA did without any music.  Awful.  We only paid 20 pounds for our seats, and they had a great view.  We left the theater on a Les Miserables high to another torrential downpour.  Ran to the subway station and rode the train home.  This was all fine.  Than I had to face the 1/2 and hour journey home in heels with a broken umbrella.  Here we go...

The teyible weather

Said my goodbye to Anna and got the umbrella out.  The minute I open my 2 pounds 50 umbrella, one of the spokes breaks.  Great just great.  As I started to walk to the city center it kept hitting me in the face.  I got nervous because it was pretty sharp and looked as if it would and could take my eye out.  Mishap number one.  I'm in a dress and tights, and as I walk my legs keep getting wet from under the shelter of the umbrella.   I don't know what it is about this town but they do not have proper street lighting.  It's very unnerving when you're walking home late because you seriously can't see a thing.  They also do not trim their hedges.  Mishap number two I step in a puddle that is about a foot deep due to the fact that I can't see the freaking side walk.  My boots were totally covered to the top with water and water seeped inside making my tights and feet squish at every step.  Mean time it's 11:30 at night and all I want is my bed because I have a throbbing headache due to being dehydrated.  The tap water here is absolutely awful and I forgot my water bottle at home, so no water for this girl.  Mishap number three, due to the untrimming of hedges I get whacked in the face and side several times.  As I'm walking and getting bombarded with shrubbery I start screaming about how much I hate this country.  The rain is the most depressing thing ever here, and I sincerely can not understand why people live in England by choice.    As

The Puddle that drenched me

I'm walking the wind decides to kick up and my umbrella flips inside out.  I'm so angry at this point I start beating the shrubbery with the umbrella.  "I HATE THIS COUNTRY!!!"  Can't you picture it right now?  I probably looked like a crazy wet drowned rat screaming to herself.  At this point it's still about a 20 minute walk home and I start crying because I just want to be in my bed.  I'm just standing there and a nice Audi drives by in a huge puddle and completely drenches my entire body in puddle spray.  I just stand there.  Completely covered in water with an inside out umbrella and squishy boots.  Due to the events of the night I just stand there and start laughing and crying at the same time.  If I had been on the outside looking in on my unfortunate situation I think I would've been on the floor laughing.  I was the absolute definition of pathetic.
It took every ounce of me to walk myself home that night.  I think I was to the point where I would've curled up on someone's front porch and just slept there due to my terrible misery.  I finally made it home and collapsed on my bed.  My feet hurt due to wearing heels and they were wet, cold, and squishy.  Bed never felt so good.  I can't wait to get home to warm weather, sun, and my car Scuttle.  Getting behind a wheel of a car will be so exciting.

Ready for the Theater before the Rain Came

Ready to GO!!

Eating at Franco's because Bocca di Lupo had no openings

Just taking pics at Caffe' Concerto