Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?

“That depends, who’s asking?” “Oh well sure, sir. I’m Alexander Hamilton, I’m at your service, sir, I have been… looking for you” “I’m getting nervous-”

Well, no need for me to sing the entire iconic second song from, in my humble opinion, the best musical in the world. And in fairness, there is someone who could sing it much better than me, I’m sure. Someone who was in the original broadway cast. Someone who is reprising his role as Aaron Burr at the Victoria Palace Theatre for July and August 👀.

That’s right folks, I’m taking a day trip to London on my own to watch Hamilton with THE Leslie Odom Jr everybody!!!

As you can imagine, I have been entirely cool and nonchalant about the whole affair. As a casual Hamilton fan, this is but a simple activity to keep me occupied.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

My guys, when I booked the tickets on a whim a mere ten days ago, I didn’t actually think this day would come, simply because it is so soon. Despite knowing for over a year that Leslie Odom Jr would be coming to London, I sort of had accepted the fact that I was not going to see it. But ten days ago, there were still a few tickets!! And so, I bought one!! And I have not a single regret!!!

This is truly about to be the best day of my life. The birth of my potential future children could never make me as happy as I am today. If I get married, my wedding will be a mere shadow compared to this joy. No amount of professional success or dreams achieved could even begin to compare.

I’m not even joking.

Much.

Anyway, onto the blog! ‘Twill be only one, since I am only going for the day.

It began, as most days do, with a wakeup. Now a pro-tip for being happier when you wake up is to set an alarm for a half hour earlier than when you need to leave, so that you can go back to sleep. I truly believe that this genuinely makes me a happier person.

And so, that is what I did today, and after my second alarm, I got up with glee and got dressed in my swaggy but chill outfit for the day, packed my bag with literally just wool and a charger and my wallet and my passport, and then Lily got up to say goodbye, lectured me about bringing a long sleeve shirt with me so as not to freeze, and then I set off!!

I strutted down the street listening to what I consider to be one of the best albums ever made, aka Taylor Swift’s Midnights, and felt very Mature and Independent™️ because I have never actually gone anywhere alone before! How funnnn!

It was like the universe was on my side, because the tram pulled up to the stop at the same time as I got there, and the RER to the station was arriving as I walked up the stairs! I did not, in fact, need to wait for it (subtle hamilton reference I know, so subtle no one noticed).

However, this meant that I arrived well over an hour before my departure. Oh well.

This gave me time to scan my passport (twice, for some reason I’m not quite sure of) and then stare into space while I listened to the end of Midnights, a favourite activity of mine. I felt so productive.

And then I decided to blog today!

After beginning to write, I went to the toilet and then due to the very confusing system, I later walked straight out of the ladies room, and straight into the mens room, instead of going the correct way back to the waiting area.

As you can imagine that was not a fun experience.

Funny, though. I have never seen such a scandalised group of grown men.

The train itself was very chill, we left on time and it was quite fun I just crocheted a Spiderman keyring, but due to the fact that I have a misguided belief that if my stitches are tight enough, the wool and hook size are just guidelines, I took wool and a hook that are both too thick and now it will be more like a small teddy. Oh well!

I literally did nothing else on the train ride except message my girlfriend. I’m such a productive woman!

Upon arrival, I decided to wander aimlessly, something I love to do and is one of my preferred activities in Paris. But I got hungry, and didn’t want to be late for Hamilton (spoiler: I was far from late) and so I stopped in a little café thing, and had a full english breakfast for lunch, because when in Rome I guess!

Afterwards, I wandered through parks and then decided to head over to the Victoria line. Writing it here, I feel like a local, a professional who knows what she’s doing and where she’s going. At the time, I remember staring at the train map, losing hope every second, wondering how in the name of the lord I was supposed to interpret this.

Thankfully, I am a resourceful and intelligent woman, and I figured it out! I shall not be cursed to the life of an underground wanderer, terrorising the locals with dramatic wails and echoes warning them to leave while they have the chance!

For a second there, that was looking like my fate.

However, I love how they know that the system is terrible, and they constantly make announcements on the metros like “This is the VICTORIA line. It is NORTHBOUND. We are at GREEN PARK. Switch here for CENTRAL line. Again, this is the VICTORIA line”.

Like that is an announcement that *knows* people aren’t figuring it out. I love it.

Speaking of, I also love how people are just nicer here than in France? I mean I never thought french customer service was as bad as everyone says, but then I realise I was just stockholm syndromed, because everyone is just much more polite and kind here lolol.

Anyway, I got off at the stop before victoria and wandered through a park. Here, I dropped the shirt that Lily made me bring, and thankfully a stranger picked it up and chased after me to give it back (I was doing my “much-too-cool-to-walk-at-a-regular-speed-walk”), otherwise that would not have been fun for me. Or Lily.

I arrived, then, at Buckingham Palace, because I figured I had to kill a little time, and I hadn’t seen it for a while (have I ever?).

I’ve gotta say lads, France won this one. The louvre is so much more impressive. I was not satisfied (another sneaky Hamilton reference!).

And so I ambled over to the theatre area, passing some British looking streets, and listening to the Hamilton soundtrack.

A funny moment was when one of the tourist bikes with like seats in the back rode past, loudly playing Sweet Caroline, and everyone in the vicinity (including me) went “BAH BAH BAH” at the appropriate moment. The stereotypes are true!!

I sat and waited on a bench for maybe 10 minutes, because I didn’t want to be early to the 2:30 pm showing. I casually checked my watch, and then my heart rate went straight up, adrenaline levels following, because my watch said 3pm. For a few seconds, I was just panicked and confused and wondering how the hell I had thought it was only 2.

And then I checked my phone and remembered the french/english time difference, and calmed down.

But I still headed to the queue outside the theatre.

And it was very fast moving, but what was really weird was that they pulled me out to check my ID? And when I showed them my driver’s license, they said it wasn’t valid ID??? So I showed my passport that thankfully I had, but that was a weird moment because why are they checking ID in a theatre, where a driver’s license doesn’t count??

Anyway, I made it to my seat and hot damn I was quite close!!! I was pretty happy as you can imagine :)

Less happy when I saw the queue for the toilet. It was genuinely outrageous. Almost out the door (and the toilets were down a flight of stairs and through the merch room).

And then back to my seat I was, full of anticipation.

And let me tell you, it was amazing.

Aaron Burr is the first character onstage, so obviously the opening lines were drowned out by raucous applause and cheers. The vibe was presentttt. Everyone was laughing at the jokes (notably King George, he even made one actor break character it was so funny), everyone was interacting (everyone cheered when they said “immigrants: we get the job done”, unlike last time). Seeing Leslie Odom Jr sing Wait For It, and Non Stop, and Aaron Burr, Sir, and everything else was just amazing and the best part of my life so far, I fear.

And then came the WORST PART OF MY LIFE. (For clarification, this is an exaggeration).

Minutes before the interval ended, an announcement was heard. “Leslie Odom Jr is unable to partake in act 2”.

AGHHH. I died.

Of course the replacement actor was great, and I loved it because I love Hamilton, so I did have fun obviously, HOWEVER I feel it is okay for me to say I was disappointed because I was really looking forward to seeing The Room Where It Happens, or the end when he shoots Hamilton, with Leslie Odom Jr. And I paid no small sum for this, so I do think my feelings were justified.

That is not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, I did, I laughed, I cried, I appreciated King George’s Trump impression…

After the show, I decided I was going to ask about partial refunds because they were only charging so much because Leslie was there (we’re on a 1st name basis now because I can’t be bothered to type his whole name every time).

I found a guy who worked there, and with four other girls we all argued with him, because he was saying things like “what you booked was Hamilton, not Leslie” and we were like “no, it clearly states on every night he’s here, “Hamilton featuring Leslie” so he was part of what we booked”, and it was a fun moment because none of us five new each other but we were connected I swear, we were adding onto each other’s arguments like “if what we booked wasn’t to see Leslie, than why are you charging three times the price when he’s here?” It was just a really fun moment (not for the man, but, well, he’s a man so who cares) and then he sighed and said “okay I can give you a card, email this and say you need a refund” so we all felt very victorious!

Girlhood.

And after that, I decided to not listen to the Hamilton soundtrack in protest, and am now enjoying the sweet sounds of Noah Kahan’s wonderful album, “The Great Divide”. I cannot recommend it enough.

I wandered into a Tesco’s, a Waitrose, and then an M&S before I found Marmite, as requested by my parents. I felt like a bit of an illegal smuggler, but a legal one, carrying substances across the border hihi. I also searched everytime for some chovolate for my sisters but every time they ONLY AND FRUIT AND NUT which Lily doesn’t like, but I love it but oh well I ended up getting that at the last shop :(

But the time came to leave, all too soon, and I could do no more sightseeing. And so, with the confidence of a Londoner, I made my way through the underground tunnels (same walk as before btw), and soon enough I was back at the station!

It was fairly speedy, I bought a Cadbury hehe, and then there were NO SEATS so I was standing :( and then some lady came up to do a survey and I was like yeah why not and then we started gossiping about celebrities that she had seen here lololol it was fairly fun for me, more entertaining than doing nothing anyway.

I know, groundbreaking information.

And then it was boarding time!! So on the train I hopped and I was in a four seat with a family with a young child so that was… fun.

But on the way back I partook in the same activities as on the way, I was just quite tired because it had been quite a full on day, and I was looking forward to getting home to the transport I knew.

And yet, the world said NUH UH.

Every RER train was cancelled. There were replacement buses, but trying to cram everyone who wants to get a train onto one bus is tough… it was cramped. And then I had to switch to a different bus to get home, and the screen was broken so I didn’t even know if it was still running that late (it was near midnight)…

Thankfully it was, but what should have been a simple half hour trip was transformed into a stressful hour long one.

But I was very happy to be home, I talked with Lily, and it was very weird to think that I had left only that same morning, and yet I had been in an entirely different country all day.

And there you have it folks. As Washington says, “we’ve gotta teach em how to say goodbye, one last time” and so, here we are, saying goodbye. Hamilton, write up my farewell essay!!! (Hamilton was basically Washington’s chat gpt lololol)

And so I must bid you adieu! Byeeeeee :)Read more