I took a trip to London yesterday with my mum as I do every December as I always find Christmas in London so magical. Everywhere is covered in decorations and blasting Christmas music, it’s impossible not to feel festive. The trip was a present for my 18th birthday as I was going to see Miss Saigon in the West End. However there were a few things I wanted to do before the show.
One of my favourite things to do in London at Christmastime is go to Selfridges. However Selfridges is the sort of place that you need a whole day to properly look around, so instead I just had a nose around Tiffany & Co and then looked around the homeware at the Christmas decorations.
Everywhere in London is covered in Paddington as it’s the most anticipated movie this Christmas. In Selfridges cinema they were showing the film and many of the gifts on sale were Paddington themed.
Around the outside of Selfridges, their famous Christmas windows also reflected the theme of Paddington. Even when wondering around London I seemed to spot a few Paddington statues, and only when I researched it did I realise there is a Paddington trail around London that you can follow to find the different statues of Paddington designed by celebrities. Information for that is here.
I was impressed by the Selfridges windows this year however I was particularly impressed by the John Lewis windows. We all saw the poignant John Lewis advert this year with Monty the penguin, so John Lewis themed their Christmas windows in honor of the penguin himself.
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After strolling around Oxford street I went down the the Prince Edward theatre to see Miss Saigon. Normally when I see a musical I know the whole storyline, all the words to every song and therefore have a certain expectation for the show. However with Miss Saigon all I knew was that it was set during the Vietnam war and involved a love story. I’d listened to the soundtrack a few times but didn’t really know what to expect.
It’s safe to say that I was blown away, as it is one of the most critically acclaimed musicals on the West End I knew it was going to be amazing but it exceeded that expectation. Firstly the set was astounding, I was captivated by the fact a helicopter flew down onto the stage. Even the intricate details of the set really brought the story together.
The lead girl who played Kim is 18 years old, never trained at drama school as she was spotted at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards in America. I thought she was breathtakingly talented and every time she sang I was covered in goosebumps.
I found the storyline incredibly gripping and the ending had me in tears but it’s a musical that I truly loved and I’d definitely see it again.
London was sensational this Christmas as always yet it made me question why everything in London is a hundred times better than anywhere else in England. The decorations are more extravagant, the shops are bigger and better however the restaurants are a lot more packed which is frustrating.
I love London and it just made me want to visit New York around Christmas time as I can imagine it being unimaginably festive and beautiful. Hopefully one day I’ll make it to New York for the festive season.
