jerry springer and friends

i know everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear about jerry springer in "chicago" last night. well, he played billy flynn (this will only mean something to those of you who have seen the show or the movie, but i'm betting that's a considerable number of you), and he was certainly the worst actor and worst singer on the stage, but he did an okay job - it didn't cause the show to go up in flames. the rest of the show was AWESOME, and i had great seats in the 8th row (though over on one side...but i could see everything). good music, great choreography. very fun. i sat next to an american grandmother/mother/daughter trio and chatted with them a bit before the show started. the grandmother was NOT AMUSED that jerry springer was in the show, and she refused to clap for him throughout the performance. this entertained me greatly. i'm actually planning to go to another show tonight, too! hooray for half priced tickets! i am justifying these 30 pound tickets because i've been doing things during the day that are free, and that definitely wasn't the case in other cities. i think it's because i've been to london before - i don't need to go to the tower of london or the globe theater (both of which you have to pay to get in to) because i've done that before. today i read my book in leicester square for a couple hours and enjoyed the awesome weather (more on that in a minute), had lunch, and then went to the (free) national gallery for an hour or two to look at the late 19th century/early 20th century art. tonight i'm seeing "a little night music," which is a stephen sondheim musical that i've never seen, but i love stephen sondheim (he did the lyrics for "west side story," and also wrote the music and lyrics to "sweeney todd" and "into the woods," among others).

so, the weather. it is HOT in my room - this is probably the hottest i've been while trying to fall asleep yet on this trip. my alarm clock has a temperature gauge on it, and when i woke up this morning it said it was 82 in our room. I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS. i guess it must be hot by london standards, too, because when i went to the train station to buy a ticket to bath (i leave tomorrow), a person came over the loud speaker and said, basically, "please remember to stay hydrated today!" it was the cutest thing ever. but the sun is out and it's really wonderful in the shade. i'm passing the hot part of the day in the hostel lobby (which appears to be air conditioned even though the bedrooms are not), before i head out to get some dinner and go to the show.

when i was in budapest i said "this is the best city ever." ditto in salzburg. ditto in munich. i didn't love interlaken and geneva, but i'm back to being really excited to be in a city. i love london!