Wicked, in the West End

 Getting ready for my birthday date with my handsome hunk-of-a husband.  All gussied up in my new birthday outfit, compliments of my fashion diva friend, Gabby.  And showcasing my '30' button, just so that EVERYONE knows I'm 30 :)  

 Here I am on the train to London.  Bryon was so fantastic planning this date night.  He got off work early, went to the train station and bought our tickets, the parking pass, everything!  The theater tickets were bought, dinner reservations made, train/underground schedules figured out, everything taken care of!  All I had to do was sit back and relax.  I don't have to tell you mommas out there that it is a rarity having no responsibilities looming over your head.  No one to look after or worry about.  Forgot what that even felt like, until tonight!!

 As soon as we got off the underground, there was the Apollo Victoria theater with this huge "Wicked" sign out front.  Thats the way to make a statement!  

We had dinner at a fantastic Turkish restaurant called, Kazan, which was a 10 minute walk from the theater.  It was sooo good!!  We both started off with Pomegranate Mohitos, yum!  This meal/restaurant had us reminiscing big time about our trip to Turkey a couple of years back.  Definitely our favorite family trip since living in the UK.  You could order pomegranate juice cheaply anywhere and there was trees bursting with fresh pomegranates everywhere! 

 

 We had the 'Pre-theater Dinner Menu" which was an appetizer sampler and then a main course.  This is the sampler platter.  I didn't know what most of the things were but we just ate and enjoyed.  I had a vegetarian entree which was out of this world good and Bryon had a meatball and vegetable dish which was good too (but not as good as mine!!!)  We ended the meal with baklava and ice cream and Turkish delight was given as the finisher for the meal.  I highly recommend this restaurant if you plan a trip to see "Wicked" and are looking for a meal that is out of the ordinary.

Dinner was over, we were both so full and worried we might fall asleep during the show, when all of a sudden it starts and wow!!  No way we are falling asleep, thats for sure!  It was really neat the way the theater was turned into the Emerald Palace and everything was green at several points during the show.  

For those who don't know, Wicked is the untold story behind the witches in Oz.  It shows how the wicked witch of the East and West and the good witch, Glenda, met and became acquainted with each other and showed totally different sides to each of them than what is portrayed in "The Wizard of Oz".   

Awww.. aren't we cute :)  Minus my squinty eyes, hehe

 

The show is over and it was great!!!  Highly highly recommend this show to anyone thinking of hitting the London theater scene.  It wasn't voted best West End show for 2 years straight for no reason!  I was spellbound the entire time.  The plot moved right along, I was never bored or confused.  The actors(es) did a great job and the set and special effects were as good as any broadway show I've seen.  

I just want to say a huge 'THANK YOU' and "I LOVE YOU' to Bryon for giving me the most thoughtful birthday gift.  Those of you reading this most likely don't know that I've talked about wanting to take the train to London to see "Wicked" since we got to England.  I've heard sooo many good things about it and it is the one play I wanted to see while we lived in the UK.  I love you sweetie, thanks for making the special effort to make my 30th birthday one of a kind!!!