Hong Kong Holiday: Day One

As a part of our crazy visa stuff, I needed to be out of the UK on the 30th Jan. So instead of coming straight back to Australia, we decided I would stay for a week in Hong Kong with El Husbando, who is currently working from there. So I had a chilled day on Wednesday getting ready, leaving the house spotless, and hanging out with Katya before I left. I was flying out of Terminal 5 at Heathrow which I had never done before, but with my boarding pass on my phone it was a super fast process and I was through security with a full 2 hours before my flight. I grabbed a Pret and a couple HP souvenirs (they have a Harry Potter shop there!) before getting the transit train to the C gates where I was due to depart from.

The flight itself was a bit disappointing, actually. After flying Qantas last time London - Perth, on a brand new plane, flying BA was a bit of a let down. The food wasn’t great (and there was no menu, leading me to choose pasta when the chicken looked much nicer - but the only choice we were given was “chicken” or “pasta”), the screen was tiny so I didn’t use it, and the plane itself was freezing the whole time! I did at least sleep pretty much the whole time between meals though, so that was something.

I landed in HK about 2:30pm, and easily made my way to the transit train to central (QR code ticket - so convenient). It was there I got very, very, VERY confused. I was supposed to be walking to Richard’s work to meet him (at the Hong Kong Club Building), which was only supposed to be 15 minutes away... But there were exits A through F, plus multiple malls, and when I got outside I couldn’t work out how to get where I needed to go! There are a lot of raised walkways above the road, it turns out, that I should have taken, but I only knew that after the fact. So I took one exit, then went back in, then out again, then back in, then found a helpful exit, then missed the pedestrian subway, then found it, then took the least convenient exit, then overshot the building by a block, then finally got to the right place! And all of this in humid 22 degrees in a sweater and long leggings... Fun.

Richard gave me the hotel key and directions - oh, it’s just up that road. Great - only that road is super uphill, and I have about 20kgs of stuff! I had to stop about 6 times and was extremely sweaty by the time I arrived at the hotel at 5pm. I unpacked a little, chilled (literally), and got ready to head back into Central to meet Richard for dinner. Downhill is much better than up. And by the time I got back outside it was perfectly pleasant and I was appropriately dressed which made everything much better.

I met Richard and we went for a wander around the quay area. HK is really pretty at night, lighting everywhere and a rabbit warren of paths and small staircases. We wandered around a while, just catching up, before walking past a place Richard had looked at online, called Wah Fung. They specialised in roast meat (pork and duck in particular), and was very reasonably priced so we headed in. We had a platter of pork and duck, some stir fry veg and bbq pork with noodles, all of which was super delicious and cost us just under 300hkd!

Then we wandered back to the hotel the long way (through the staircases and botanical gardens), where Richard was supposed to have a 10:30pm phone meeting, which luckily got cancelled so we could go straight to bed.

Day Out: Paris

On Tuesday I decided to head to Paris for the day (got the Eurostar for 29 Euro each way and eveything!) before heading to Hong Kong. I was originally scheduled to be on the train leaving around 8am, but some trains were being cancelled due to the predicted snow in France and Belgium, so instead I left St Pancras at 7am. That was rather early when you factor in being there an hour before you leave and it taking an hour to get there, but oh well.

I arrived around 10:30 Paris time, to find it grey and freezing, but with no snow to speak of. I do think that was better though for me, given I walked everywhere for the day. I headed first to a sweet little knitting shop near Forum les Halles called Lil Weasel. Having just bought some yarn from Australia while I there over Christmas, I couldn’t really justify buying any more at the moment. But I was able to pick up some knitting needles which I had been wanting and couldn’t find in person near our place in London. I feel like it is a little hard given I don’t speak enough French to hold a conversation, but I do do my best.

I had only about 3 hours, I figured, before I would have to start heading back to Gare du Nord for my return journey. I decided to go to the Louvre, before I looked it up on Maps for directions - only to find that it being Tuesday, the Louvre is closed. So I looked up which other museums would actually be open on a Tuesday and it tunrs out, most of them but not the Louvre.

My choice then was inspired by the second series of Marvellous Mrs Maisel, in which they went to Paris and particularly the Rodin Museum. So I went there. It is only a short walk past the Musee d’Orsay, but I had never been there before. On the way over I picked up an extremely fresh baguette with ham and cheese, which was still warm it was so fresh, not to mention super delicious! I bought my ticket and wandered straight into the sculpture garden, where I sat in the garden to eat. I do wish it had been more than 2 degrees though!

I actually found the Rodin museum super interesting. He had a pretty regular life, but surrounded himself with amazing creatives and did so much more than the few sculptures you might know him for. He was also a beautiful painter and they had many of his tests and steps towards the major sculptures. Of course, I did also see the major works - the Thinker, Burghers of Calais are the ones I know the most, but his work is so realistic. In fact, for one of his early sculptures he was accused of taking a mould to copy rather than sculpting it himself! While there I bought a cute mini tote to carry in-progress scarves (an A5 size) with Rodin on it. Perfect for the knitting I’m bringing back to Hong Kong and Australia while I’m back!

Before I’d even realised, it was time to head back over the Seine to Gare du Nord. I stopped in the station to pick up a few macarons (I should have done it elsewhere though, I forgot the ones in the station aren’t the best). Then it was back on the train to get back to Wimbledon and my sweet kitten for one more night. Next up, Hong Kong!

Theatre Trip: Company

COMPANY

Gielgud Theatre
Date: 21st January (Monday), 7:30pm
Seats: Stalls, Row U 23-24
(with Jess!)

Notes:

This was an interesting production which I had been looking forward to for a few months. I first heard about it when it was originally supposed to run for about 6 weeks, but 2 weeks into the run after press night it got such rave reviews that they extended it to the end of March. That piqued my interest given it was early in the run, it must have been good. And then I heard that Patti Lupone was in it, and she is such a legend in musical theatre I had to see it at some point.

While we were back home in Australia for Christmas, tickets went on Boxing Day sale, and I snapped up a pair for £15 on TodayTix for just after my birthday. We even got stalls tickets, row U which was fine although we couldn't see the band who sat above the stage, but we didn't miss any of the action! As usual, I took Jess with me (Richard was not interested, and actually he was off sick that day anyway) and we grabbed a quick dinner before heading over. We got to the Gielgud about 7:15 but the line to pick up tickets was so long! We were worrying we'd miss the beginning, but we had time to get tickets and even go to the bathroom. I think they actually started the show late because they were still getting people in.

The first thing I noticed about the show was the staging. There was a big neon sign saying "COMPANY", but more interestingly were the sets. The base set was actually an empty stage and the rooms moved in and out of the stage. They brought on connecting rooms so people could enter and exit and there were heaps of different entrances and doors and places for people to come in and out of in different scenes. All the sets were really bland on purpose, which I feel allowed the characters to really shine.

Just about the only thing I knew about this show going into it was the composer.  Stephen Sondheim's written two musicals I already know and love (Sweeney Todd  and Into the Woods), and he didn't let me down this time either! The music is beautifully interesting and complicated, with lines that duck and weave seamlessly together. It is a bit more modern than the others because it is actually set in the modern day. And this version, with Bobbie as a female instead of a male, really put a brilliant twist on the show. Having listened to the cast recording of the regular version (there will be a recording of this version but it's not out yet), it almost makes more sense with the cast changes given the pressure society puts on women to have kids by a certain age. One of my favourite cast numbers was You Could Drive a Person Crazy, which used to be an Andrews Sisters style number between 3 of Bobby's girlfriends, but is now an upbeat barbershop number between 3 guys which worked so well!

The cast was absolutely fantastic! Standouts for me were Jonathan Bailey, who played Jamie (Amy in previous productions), who is crazy and neurotic and also brilliant (he had the song Getting Married Today, which is just so impressive with the fastest paced lyrics I've heard anywhere and got him a massive round of applause) and Mel Giedroyc, who played Sarah, the neurotic and passive aggressive spouse with a terrible laugh and the best comedic timing. Mel was a particular surprise, because I didn't know she did theatre, I had only seen her in Bake Off and other comedy things. But she was great!

Other than Mel, the only cast member I'd heard of was enough to make me go on her own... Patti Lupone! A Broadway legend in her own right and a legendary performer, I really wanted to have the experience of seeing her perform live and boy was it worth it to hear her belt out Ladies Who Lunch. My favourite of the other cast was Jonathan Bailey, who played Jamie (Amy in the original production), who is crazy and completely neurotic and has the most insane number in the whole show (Getting Married Today) which got a huge round of applause from everyone! I'd see the show again just for that performance if I have the chance. And then there's Bobbie, played by Rosalie Craig. She was sweet and funny and had a wicked sense of humour. Her situation is so conflicted (being surrounded by so many married people who say that she should get married and yet are so dysfunctional in their marriages) and was such a modern interpretation. I think it will ring true for a lot of women, aged 35 or not.

Overall, one of the best shows I've seen, especially given how little I knew about it. I am hoping to try and get to it again before it closes at the end of March!