The Last of 2015

I can’t believe it’s almost 2016! The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of parties, sweets, work and planning for the New Year. Here’s what I’ve been up to in London!

I detoured to Claridge’s to see the Christmas tree in the lobby; this year Christopher Bailey of Burberry designed the piece. It is quite ‘Burberry’ indeed as it’s made up of gold umbrellas! A unique take on the Christmas tree but I really loved it.

I also admired the rest of the lobby, decked out for the holidays! The hotel is beautiful and I’m adding afternoon tea at Claridge’s to my London list.

Sometimes I just have to laugh when I am grocery shopping….like how Waitrose includes a profile on the hens from which their eggs come from!

There is a food market every Friday near my office and for Christmas the market had reindeer! They seemed pretty unimpressed with the crowds, much preferring to eat and itch themselves.

I took a walk in the rain one day at lunch to fetch my train ticket for Christmas and wandered back through the Christmas Market at Tower Bridge.

Obviously this was a big event in my December!

I went to see ‘Cats’ at the London Palladium Theatre. The theatre was built in 1910 and is one of the more famous London theatres from its resume of performances. I visited the Palladium back in 2014 when I visited and saw ‘A Chorus Line’ here. The performance space is a large open stage and the theatre has a Tudor-era feel to it with dark brown tones and ornate wood carvings.

I saw ‘Cats’ at the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire with my mom and wanted to experience the show on a larger scale. It was interesting to see how the numbers are differently interpreted, as well as the touches added to modernize the story. ‘Cats’ is not my favorite musical but nonetheless I really enjoyed the production.

This weekend I went to see Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty with my coworker Tracy at the Sadler Wells Theatre. It is a re-interpreted version of the classic tale and is marketed as a ‘gothic romance’. The dancers were spectacular and the show had several amazing set pieces. Even though I prefer more classic ballets versus contemporary ones it was a lovely performance!

Afterwards Tracy and I visited Fortnum and Mason and took in their spectacular Christmas windows. I love the rich colors and gold used to decorate this year! We had a delicious dinner at The Wolseley and walked through London before the end of the evening.