A Semester in London: A LUSCIOUS BATH!!!!

This blog is about being lush. Lush is a chain that sells bath products such as bath bombs, bubble baths, oils, skin care lotion, etc. Courtney has been a fan of this store for years. She introduced someone we all know and love to this store and its products. This person has become addicted to bath bombs, bubble baths, and lotions! Can you guess who it is? It will be revealed at the end of the blog. See if you are correct!!!

Another luscious place we went to was The Drury Lane Theatre which is the oldest theatre in London's West End. We took a tour of the theatre as we do every year.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is currently being performed there. The longest running show in this theatre was Miss Saigon which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. The 25th Anniversary celebration and production is being shown in cinemas all over the world on October 16th. Check out your local cinema. It is worth going to. I will be seeing it in Scotland with Suzanne Deranek who is visiting this week!

Sir Noel Coward smoking his cigarette in the lobby!

Here is Mr. Drury Lane as he was dubbed by Curtis Kempton the year his class came to London. Curtis does a great impersonation of him. We have had him as our tour guide for many, many years. He recognized me as a regular patron of the tour! lol

King George III from the Revolutionary War period, who was known to be mad got into a fight with his son in the foyer of the theatre in front of all the theatergoers. As a result they put in two separate entrances outside and in the foyer. There are also two boxes in the theatre: The King and Queen's box and the Princes box(which is not used today). The Royal Family uses just one now.

One of the guides, who is a cleaning lady, has cleaned the theatre for 300 some odd years!

We are inside the Queen's box.

"King" Taylor knighting Sir Zack Hillman with a feather duster!

The playwright, Sheridan, picks up the tour!

The bomb that was dropped on the theatre during World War!II.

Nell Gwyn, an actress during the Restoration Period and mistress to King Charles, continues the tour in the basement where Courtney and a few others got scared by a Ghost...which was really the other actor after a ghost story was told.

The Fortune Theatre where The Woman in Black is playing is across the street from The Drury Lane Theatre. This entire building could be placed on the stage of the Drury Lane and one would still have room to walk around the whole building. Unfortunately, because of copyright laws we could not take pictures of the stage. We did however see some of the sets and props for Charley being maintained.

Speaking of Baths, have you figured out who the Lush fan is? Anyway, our final day trip was to the city of Bath. Bath was an old Roman stronghold that still has Roman bath entact. Below is the Pulteney Bridge which crosses the Avon River. It is one of two bridges that have stores on it. The other is the bridge in Florence, Italy that crosses the Arno River.

The shops that are on the bridge!

Cathedral in plaza next to the baths.

Entrance to the baths.

A cool textured wall which is part of the building.

One of the many stores in Bath that has maintained its Roman architecture.

Students did a self-guided tour in the baths with headsets. They could do an alternate commentary given by Bill Bryson that is pretty hysterical. Those of you who have read his books know what I mean.

Here is Bath's smallest pub. I have eaten here before but Taylor Cruthers and I ate at a Greek restaurant across the street from the pub. A good choice!

On the Sunday night before our dress rehearsal we went to the Comedy Store to see the Improv group The Comedy Store Players, who are the original Who's Line is it Anyway? group. The show was excellent as always!

Have you guessed who the fan of Lush is yet? Soon to be revealed.