Day Twenty Three: Mon Plaisir and Driving Miss Daisy

Monday October 17th, 2011

It was a Monday, so Richard didn't have class, but he did have homework. Letty spent the afternoon scouting out the theatre ticket scene in Leciester Square (pronounced 'Lester'), and came to the conclusion that we couldn't afford to see very many shows, even at the prices of the discount or 50% off booths which abounded in the West End. (Tip for would-be theatre-goers here - make sure you go to the AUTHENTIC ticket discount booth. It's called TKTS and is located in Leicester Square and offers 50% off tickets for London theatre shows. It's a stand-alone kiosk-ish thing, and will NOT have people in front of it trying to sell you tickets. It most likely WILL have a line of people for you to stand in. Just keep walking around Leicester Square until you locate it. Unless you're familiar with the area, TKTS is the best way to go for half-price West End theatre tickets, since you want to make sure you're not being scammed, and the others can be a bit dodgy. Be aware - it's not always exactly 50% off asking price, and a student rush or same-day ticket at the door (if the theatre your show is playing at offers them) could be much less expensive.  TKTS sells 50% off prime seats so if you are willing to sit in nosebleeds or student rush seats, showing up to the ticket box office could be a better way to go. Because even 50% off a full price West End ticket is a hefty chunk of change -remember, pounds do NOT equal dollars... Also, if a show is super-popular and/or sold-out, it is unlikely that the TKTS booth will offer tickets for it at all.

Regardless - here's their website http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/buy-tickets/tkts/
and a quick pic of the booth, just to be uber-helpful to anyone who's trip-planning.

Anyway, after concluding that we couldn't really afford any of the current West End offerings (plus, there was nothing I was DYING to see at those prices), I went the same-day rush tickets route, and got us nosebleeds to see Driving Miss Daisy. I admit, a draw to the play (I loved the film!) was also the opportunity to see James Earl Jones live on stage. Teensy Darth Vader obsession. Anyway, I headed back to campus and liberated Richard to go home and change for an evening on the town!

Hurray for fine dining and theatre in London's famous West End! We went to one of my targeted restaurants from the Map-O-Wonder, a French establishment by the name of Mon Plaisir - where the food was every bit as fabulous as advertised and the atmosphere was something American establishments can only dream about. (And actually, better than many of the restaurants we tried when actually IN Paris, which we didn't know at the time). Billing itself as the oldest French Restaurant in London, Mon Plaisir was an unforgettable experience!

You know what's coming next - more pictures of food! This time I only took pictures of our gorgeous dessert plates - mine was a crunchy meringue base with a delicious mousse top, and Richard ordered specialty cheeses and breads.

From Mon Plaisir it was a short walk to Wyndham's Theatre where Driving Miss Daisy was playing. It was a charming, very old theatre (as so many in London are) where we discovered the true meaning of 'nosebleed' seats! I have gone to many, many, many theatres in my life, but this was by far the steepest vertical climb I have ever experienced between myself and the stage!

However, the sheer fabulousness of the leading actors made what could have been an excruciating evening delightful - a bit like listening to a radio play while watching teensy figures move about. All in all, it was a lovely evening, the kind that makes you want to live in London for always.