Day 2 of Journey to Scotland

NPAC Cast with Wayne Rapozo from Kauai who 

hosted the group to lunch and tour of Almeida Theatre

Sorry took so long to post, we got back late after our show . . . so here goes:

August 2:  The day began with our first breakfast at the Bankside House and the NPAC group was thrilled . . . different selections included veggie sausages.  Then it was a short walk to the London Eye that really gave us a bird's eye view of the city.

Then things even got better.  Wayne Rapozo, local boy from Kauai, set up both a lunch and tour of the Almeida Theatre.  Mr. Rapozo set up to have the group picked up in vans from the London Eye.  And yes . . . what a pick up in black Mercedes Vans . . . we felt like celebrities.  The lunch was at a restaurant called Almeida and included dishes such as duck, risotto, trout, and desserts such as lemon posset.  The tour of the theatre was very educational and made us realize that you don't need a huge venue to make it work.  The goal of having the audience very intimate with the performers is a key mission and it works.  We could not believe how generous Mr. Rapozo was and how supportive he made us feel.  Thank you!

Then it was off on the Tube to attend a rehearsal with the London cast of South Pacific and Loretta Ables Sayre of Hawaii.  Meeting Loretta made us feel like we were back home.  This was an amazing experience to get to see the cast run through almost the whole first act of South Pacific in their rehearsal studio.  To get to see the performers up close and hear their voices was mind blowing.  Think about it, we got to meet Tony award winners, director, Bartlett Sher, Paulo Szot, and Tony nominated, Loretta Ables Sayre.  Everyone was so warm, giving, and loved the advice about making performing a career.  As thanks, we gave our leis to the cast of South Pacific.

Then it was off on the Tube again and a huge surprise for the NPAC group.  Although we knew we were not scheduled to see the musical Wicked, Mr. Kitsu decided it would be a great idea to go to the theatre and take photos in front of the marquee.  As the group posed for the picture, Mr. Kitsu announced that we would all be seeing Wicked and that he bought tickets for everyone.  There was stunned silence, then screams of joy and tears flowing.  Went Mr. Kitsu returned with the tickets, a huge group hug was given to him.  Of course the show was wonderful and for some cast members, more tears flowed.

We caught cabs back to the hotel and called it a night.  What a tremendous day . . . it truly was once in a lifetime.

Day 1 of Journey to Scotland

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.