The end is in sight!

Our last full day in London.  That’s probably just as well, because I’m getting tired.  I plan to sleep for about a week when I get home.

For our last day, we had a fun day with little siteseeing.  Instead, we hit the markets.  First was Camden Market, which was hugely fun.  Everyone had a good time – even me, though the only things I bought were orange juice and a short and much-needed massage.  I didn’t realize how much my neck hurt from carrying around the camera until the masseuse was digging his fingers into it.

Here’s Kate at the Stables Market in Camden Market:

Then it was to Portobello Market, which was a lot less fun, consisting mainly of stalls of antiques and food surrounded by huge mobs of people.

We then returned to the hotel to drop stuff off and take a short break, then it was off for a walk through the Green, Hyde Park, and Kensington Gardens.  Quite pleasant.  Diana took the opportunity to climb a tree – here she is.

Can’t see her there?  Try this closer shot:

Finally, it was dinner, and then we went to see “Love Never Dies,” the sequel to “Phantom of the Opera.”

Two things you should know.  First, I love musicals.  Second, I hate “Phantom of the Opera.”  The plot is at best semi-coherent and drops many of the things that I used to love about the old Phantom movies (no acid in the face!).  And then there’s the Phantom.  In the scene early on when he lures Christine to his underground lair, and she swoons on his bed in her diaphanous nightgown, all he does is sing to her.  Poor Christine!

But everyone was in the mood for this show, so I agreed  to go.  And to my great surprise, I kind of liked it.  Much more than the original Phantom, anyway.  To be sure, it’s an incredible cheese-fest, complete with oversinging and melodrama around every corner.  And then, it’s set in a freak show on Coney Island (Julie and I saw one of those just three weeks ago, and had a great time too!).  But those elements were kind of fun, in a so-bad-it’s-good kind of way.  In fact, my one complaint about the show is that it dragged a bit in the second act when it started getting too serious – it really needed more mustache-twirling and oversung melodrama.  But overall, kind of fun.  (But if you want to see it, better go soon – it’s closing here in August, and given that it wasn’t a London success, I don’t expect to see it in New York any time soon.)

Of course, I couldn’t take pictures in the show.  So to represent the freakish nature of the Phantom, I give you this picture of Kate’s rather freakishly limber arms.

And so ends our touring.  I’ll do a wrap-up post tomorrow or Monday (tomorrow is going to be a busy one, what with traveling and all), so stay tuned!