Chris and I landed safely in Chicago this past weekend, after spending 2 weeks traveling around Ireland and England. The entire trip was amazing and there were so many sights we saw and people we met, I don't even know where to begin when explaining how wonderful the trip was. So I guess I will start first with the itinerary and a bit of theater.
The trip went a little something like this...
Land in Dublin and fly down to Cork - > drive to Kinsale (a charming fishing village on the southern tip of Ireland) for the night - > drive west along the coast, up through the Dingle Peninsula into Bunratty for the night (where the pubs are open late and the piano player is happy to have the girl from Iowa lead the crowd in songs) - > drive north to Doolin and take the afternoon to hike around the Cliffs of Moher (simply majestic) - > drive East to Dublin and catch a flight to Liverpool -> hang with Nick and Kris in Liverpool for a few days -> drive south through the Cotswold's (stopping for afternoon tea in a little town of Painswick) and on to Bath(dining at Jamie's Italian!) -> drive east to London to spend a few days seeing sights, taking in the theater, and enjoying all that London has to offer.
London's theater was amazing! We saw two shows while visiting: The Woman in Black (a 2 man staged play about a horror story) and Oliver! Because what's more British than Oliver!?
I wish Chicago offered half price theater tickets, I would go see more shows if they only cost $25! And with both shows we had excellent seats (front and center, about 10 rows back from the stage!)
Both shows were fantastic performances (I didn't expect to like Oliver! but was surprised at how fun the show was). Here's a bit of info about The Woman in Black:
Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose. Years later, as an old man, he recounts his experiences to an actor in a desperate attempt to exorcise the ghosts of the past. The play unfolds around the conversations of these two characters as they act out the solicitor's experiences on Eel Marsh all those years ago.
Hooray for the theater!
