Sunday, July 31 began early for NPAC cast and crew at we all met at 4:00 am to begin preparing our luggage for check in. Surprise, we had 35 pieces of luggage to check in for a group of 23 . . . thank you United for not charging us for the extra bags. Logistically, we were not prepared to move that many pieces and Mr. Kitsu was a bit stress (Tali was the victim of the stress, poor guy). But the group began to organize and a plan was developed with each member having a duty.
Check in went by quickly after that and it was off to gate and later off to LAX. Highlights on the flight were being recognized over the PA and getting such positive comments from crew and passengers.
Five hours later we arrived in LAX and got a quick bite to eat before departing for our almost 10 hour flight to London. One surprise was that each trip member received an envelope with pounds to help them with a bit more spending money. The flight was uneventful and we were glad to finally land. However, coming out of customs was a bit challenging as a small group of adults in the group took a very long time to come out. Found out they were questioned about camera gear brought by PBS. Then it was on bus tour hosted by Allen.
We visited sites such as Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Hyde Park.
We dressed for cold weather, but London is in the middle of a heat wave and temps were in the 80's. I think most of the group will be in nice shorts tomorrow.
And the group did well for most of the tour, but in the last half hour, we hit the wall and over half the group took cap naps on the bus. We finally checked in to our hotel and we will try to get some rest. Final highlight was group going to market and buying bottled water . . . should have seen looks on faces when they received change . . . some are having difficult time associating one pound with a coin.
Tomorrow is a busy day as we ride the London Eye, have an elegant lunch with Wayne Rapozo of the Almeida Theatre, tour the theatre, then attend a rehearsal with the Broadway cast of South Pacific and we get to meet Tony nominated performer and Hawaii resident, Loretta Ables Sayre. We then will cruise the West End and ooh and ahh over the number of shows being performed.
That was a fast day 1.
