The British Museum, Bubble Tea & a night at the theater

Today we had planned a leisure day in the city. On the agenda was The British Museum, Trafalgar Square, and a Broadway show in the West End! We slept in (FINALLY), took our time getting ready and had breakfast at the hotel. We took the tube (all by our little selves!) and met our friend at The British Museum. London has so many wonderful museums it was hard to decide which one to spend a morning at. This one is famed for having the most comprehensive art and artifacts in the WORLD. It was such a beautiful building. When you walk inside, you are in "the Great Court". This is the room which connects all the various galleries and the ceiling is made of glass. It was amazing!

Thankfully, @paigeintransit had been a few times before, so she was able to bring us to see the highlights. We definitely could have spent hours in each gallery.

Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to stroll above ground to take in all the sights and sounds. We made our way over to China town where we had our first Bubble Tea. It was in this cute little store, Cuppa Cha. It was so fun! We each got a different "base" tea, but we all had to get the little tapioca pearls. A little party in a bubble. Cheers!

We walked around a bit more and went to London's oldest bookstore, Hatchards. It has been occupying the same space for two CENTURIES. Isn't that amazing?! It had multi-levels, and we could have spent a day just in here. 

We had to pull ourselves away from sightseeing fun to head back to the hotel to get ready for our night at the theater. On the way back, we had to take a snap on the famous Maddox Street.  :-) 

We had reservations for dinner at an Indian cafe/restaurant called Dishoom. It was located on Carnaby Street. Carnaby Street is a pedestrian street in Soho lined with shopping and restaurants. This street was bustling with people. This is the perfect place to have a drink or just shop around. It was such a neat atmosphere.  

We didn't have to wait long for our table and settled in for a wonderful dining experience. Dishoom is touted as one of the last "Bombay cafes". It definitely had an old-school vibe, and you feel like you are transported to India. We shared several small plates and everything was scrumptious. This was definitely one of our favorite meals of the entire trip.

After dinner, we made our way over to the West End. Another MUST of the birthday trip was to see a "Broadway" show! We had booked tickets in advance to see DreamGirls. It was at the Savoy Theater located inside the Savoy Hotel. It was all glitz and glam!

As we were making our way in, one of the usher's stopped us and asked if we would like to upgrade our tickets for no charge. SAY WHAT!?!? We said, "what's the catch"?! Apparently the tickets we had bought came with a little souvenir notebook. Instead of the notebook we could have access to a private lounge, private restroom (before AND during intermission). TWIST MY ARM. We happily took the upgrade. Soooo, instead of heading to our seats, we were shown to the Ambassador Lounge. (what a story!)

Unfortunately, I don't have any tips or tricks to snag this upgrade, so I'll just say if they offer it -- TAKE IT.  (Yes, that's ice cream and nuts that we ate in the private lounge at intermission). 

The show was fabulous. Amber Riley (most known from the show Glee) was the star actress. She brought the house down on more than one number. The music, the singing, and the dancing were all fantastic. Definitely put this one on your list if it comes to a theater near you!

What a day! What a FUN day! BIG thanks to @paigeintransit for being our personal tour guide. Stay tuned for our last venture outside the city!