Taking advantage of the fact that mutual friends would be travelling to the wedding at different stages during the day, Devo took more time to enjoy the sites, and I rushed home to prepare. I made it to Tewin Bury Farm in plenty of tiime to have photos taken and to prepare my introductions, and Devo made it for the chuppa. The setting was typically English: beautiful, sophisticated, floral and cloudy. The chuppa was white and ornate, and was garnished with purple orchids to match. The energetic Rabbi sang beautifully to complete the simcha, and I chirped in with some melodies too. Where he sang as though it were a joyous West End musical, I attempted to balance with serenity and love-balladish tones. Together we made a great combo.
The frenzy of photos started thereafter as we ssnacked on some gorgeous little things - sushi, chicken kebabs, fish and chips, veggie kebabs, and of course champagne.
The task of co-ordination is not exactly my forte, but I managed to keep things together in terms of event planning for our friends.
The band played up a storm, starting off with hora's and blending into softer background music while we devoured the incredible feast of roast duck, baby lamb shanks, various veggies and the stunning array of shotglass desserts.
Then once the formalities of food, speeches, benching and thank you's were taken care of, off came the ties, and on came the dancing shoes. Only the "carriages at 12" could stop the party.
Monday and Tusday were blessed with glorious London sunshine again, and we took full advantage by walking the cobbled streets around Trafalgar Square with Jill, and then a romantic walk on the South Bank of the Thames. The National Portrait Gallery and the Tate Britain were our spots of preference for art viewing this time. We also hit the high street of shopping, getting off the tube at Oxford Circus, and getting the real London vibe: millions of people crowding around shop entrances holding Starbucks coffee and umbrellas for the drizzle.
We capped off the evening with the stunning "Priscilla of the Desert" show at The Palace Theatre on the famous West End, London's broadway.
One cannot under-estimate the value of planning, so our last few hours in London were spent doing exactly that. We needed to know what treasures were in store for us in Prague, Budapest and Geneva.
That being done and dusted, we were then delayed by Easyjet for 4 hours at Gatwick, where we could have easily done our planning and "jolled" a bit more in London. Traveling is full of such Murphy's Law occassions...it's wonderful, we'll take it anyday, traveling that is.
Eastern Europe - here we come!