One of, if not my favorite area in London.

And NO - it's not becuase there is Beatle history here..

..but that may help just a bit..

St. John's Wood is more of a residential area,
minus the crowds upon crowds that come to Abbey Road Studios.

There is a lot to the area though.
It makes for a great day out of the crazy city life, to just relax in such a calm and peaceful area.
Abbey Road Studios

This is what most people come to St. John's Wood for.

Abbey Road is known for that iconic album cover from that little band I happen to talk about a lot.

The zebra crossing you are so familiar with is there, along with a zillion people holding up traffic

as they try to recreate the album cover.

 Have you seen the Abbey Road Crossing Cam?

Enjoy the sights of people posing and sounds of cars honking.

I'll mention that Paul McCartney also lives right around the corner from Abbey Road Studios.

He's owned the place since the early 60's, and still uses it as his home.

Girls used to camp out outside the house and try to jump the gate when Beatlemania was going on.

I'm crazy about him, that's for sure - but I'm not THAT crazy.

Primrose Hill

 This is one of my favorite places in all of London.

You get an entire view of the London skyline when you walk up the hill.

Not to mention it's a dog-lovers heaven.

If I recommend spending a day anywhere, it's here.

London Zoo

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

If you are craving more furry friends after dog-watching at Primrose Hill,

just walk across the street to the London Zoo.

Who doesn't love an afternoon at the zoo?

where you can find some amazing productions put on from May to September.

February already?

Wasn't I just writing about Christmas creeping up on us?

1. I'm diving into the new year head first with some new internships and things.

While I'm still going crazy, and my anxiety is over the roof,

it feels better to know I am making moves that will hep towards staying here.
Because I've been here for six months and I'm still hopelessly in love with this city...
which means leaving is simply not an option.

2. Heather's birthday is TOMORROW!

We're doing a celebratory dinner at our favorite restaurant, Richoux.

I was thinking of getting her Paul McCartney,

but all she's said is 'I just want to blow out a candle'

.. whatever.

Check out Heather's post from a few weeks back and give her a Happy Birthday shout!

3. I got the cutest little valentine in the mail last week from Cupid at Hotel Choclat ..

Turns out, my secret valentine is the lovely Anna at Anna in Wonderland!

I came home from a run to a massive box of chocolate,

and let me tell you,

there's nothing better than coming home feeling like death and sweat to a box of sweets.

There are all types of treats with all types of fillings - champagne, caramel, cream, gin, lemon.

I'm both proud and very surprised that I didn't eat them all that night.

Happy Sunday!

Today's a pretty big day in Beatles history.

I don't know if many of you know what Savile Row is,

but I think most of you do know what 'the rooftop concert' is.
Or dear god, I hope so.

Today, 46 years ago, was the final live performance The Beatles ever played together,
and of course - it was played on the roof of a building.
I mean, how else did you think they would have their final show? On a stage at a venue?
Psh. Come on.
They're The Beatles.

The show began around midday, which was pretty fortunate for all the business people in London on their lunch breaks.
Some lucky folks were even able to pop out on their roof or balcony and watch them,
but most of the crowds formed below in the streets to simply listen and enjoy.

The set was a little over 40 minutes
but was interrupted by the police before then.
And by interrupted, I mean the police told them to stop and in true Beatles form
they gave no shits, did what they wanted and kept playing.

Imagine walking through Piccadilly and hearing this faint familiar sound from around you,
and later on realizing you are listening to The Beatles performing live right above you.
Could you imagine?

Lucky for us, the entire thing was recorded.
And they even got a few songs on video.
Enjoy!


"I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition."

The world's longest running musical.

The West End, Broadway, and dozens of other countries.

A Hollywood feature film packed full of stars.

Yes - of course we're talking about Les Miserables here.

I was invited to see the show by that lovely little cat you may have seen running around London,
who is also known as Rebecca at Official Theatre.

And you all should know by now, I don't turn down a night at the theatre.
It's just not in my blood.

This was also Les Mis - a show you really can't not go to.
Is that even possible? To say no when someone asks you to see Les Mis?
Really asking - let me know.

For those few of you who haven't gotten into see some version of this show
- and let me ask you real quick, WHY HAVEN'T YOU? -
The story follows Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who's broke his parole.
We follow him through his quest for good,
and along the way we meet plenty of different characters
and about 24,601 sub-plots.
(ha ... ha ha ha...)

But I promise, they are all great.

 
This was actually the first time I had seen Les Miserables outside of sitting in the stalls,
and sitting quite close at that.
I am absolutely mesmerized by the entire production of the show, though,
and have always had an urge to see it from higher up to get a view of the staging in it's entirety.

We sat in Row H of the Dress Circle, and my view was incredible!
(Check out my review & pics from the seat at the greatest website for theatre-going, SeatPlan.com)
No heads I had to peek over, no obstructions to look around - it was clear views all around.

Having this new view, I was able to see things I hadn't noticed before,
from the top of the barricades to the lighting from above,
I loved the new angles.
I was even able to see the stage crew a little more since I got a top-down view,
and I know most people wouldn't want to see that, but as a veteran when it comes to Les Mis,
I'm usually looking around at the entirety of the show rather than the actual scene on the stage.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening of new friends and old music,
all of which I love!

I couldn't recommend this show enough to anyone who hasn't seen it.
I do love the film version of this show, and have heard great things about the new production on Broadway,
but nothing beats seeing it in London at the Queen's.