Planning for Blake’s London: Final(ish) Plan!

Related Posts: Planning for London!, Planning for Blake’s London!, and Trying to Figure Out London!

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Monday

1. Arrive Heathrow at 5:05 p.m.
2. Take the Heathrow Express, and then taxi to hotel.
3. I think I may get to my hotel around 8 p.m. Hotel is near Russell Square. Check into hotel and get situated.
4. Ask the concierge for a dinner recommendation near the hotel. Or…
5. Simon of shipscooksstuff.wordpress.com has kindly offered to “show [me] some of Soho’s pubs and give [me] some background on [his] home city.” So sweet! Hopefully, we’ll meet up either Monday or Thursday.

Tuesday: Special Event Day!

1. Before 10 a.m., explore Russell Square and surrounding neighborhood.
2. 10 a.m.: David Bowie is at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Afterwards, explore the V&A. Ask information desk about the “…four of Blake’s ‘fresco’ paintings on display permanently” as well as Arts & Crafts/William Morris and other must-sees.
3. Lunch: The Queen’s Arms and/or the V&A Cafe.
4. After V&A, Tate Britain: The new Blake room will open on May 6th. Ask information desk about the Pre-Raphaelites. Perhaps take a 45-minutes free collection highlights tour at 11, 12, or 3. 
5. Leave some time to relax and possibly nap in the late afternoon.
6. 7:30 p.m.: G. E. Gallas Invited to Speak to The Blake Society! at 17 South Molton Street.

Wednesday: Touring Around!

1. If exhausted from Tuesday, sleep in a little bit.
2. 10 a.m.: National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, or return to a museum from the previous day.
3. Lunch: Eat somewhere near/in museums.
4.  1 p.m.: Harrods Vintage Bus Tour of London with Champagne Tea at Harrods – Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column, Hyde Park, the Houses of Parliament, The Royal Albert Hall, a cruise on the River Thames, and tea/scones at Harrods (until 6 p.m.).
   
5. 7/7:30 p.m.: Jack the Ripper Tour (option #1, option #2, or option #3).

Thursday: Blake’s London!

1. My friend Elena may come up from Barcelona for the day to see me! 
2. 10 a.m.: British Museum –  Department of Prints and Drawings, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, etc.
3. Lunch: Tea and Tattle (41 Great Russell Street) or London Review Cake Shop (14 Bury Place).
4. Blake historical sites: (a) St. James’s Church, (b) Royal Academy New Somerset House, (c) St. Mary’s Battersea, and (d) Bunhill Fields.
5. Either National Portrait Gallery (open to 9 p.m.) or  pubs with Simon.

Friday

• Depart: Back to San Francisco!

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Copyright 2013 by G. E. Gallas

I’m okay, but…

Hey everyone:

Just wanted to tell you that I was in a minor car accident yesterday. I’m okay, other than a little bruising and soreness.

After a wonderful date with Wes (we went to the San Francisco Zoo and had so much fun), I got a taxi home. The taxi wasn’t paying attention and crashed into the back of a stopped bus.

I was a little shaken up, but thankfully there was a wonderful lady named Tricia there to help and comfort me. A fireman checked to make sure I didn’t have any broken bones.

I’ll be taking a little time off from illustration, just until the soreness in my hand and shoulders goes away. But the premiere of The Poet and the Flea on Wednesday, November 28th is definitely still on!!

Anyway, I hope everyone stays safe (and makes sure to wear a seat belt, even in a taxi)!

Best,

G. E

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas

October 2010: VAMPS at Roseland Ballroom, NYC

I can’t believe it’s already been two years since I saw VAMPS in New York City. I made so many great friends in line, and I still communicate with them via Facebook today! –G. E.

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Waiting for Hyde:

Curiosity Killed The Average New Yorker

It was 7 in the morning when a skinny, middle-aged woman in a tracksuit jogged up to us and asked “What are you guys waiting for?”

Carey, one of many fellow fans I had met for the first time that very morning, asked her friend Shannon to hand her the signs. After receiving the pile of lined paper from Shannon, Carey proceeded to display the first page to the skinny woman. In crude Sharpie marker, the sign read:

We are here for VAMPS.

After staring at the words for a moment with a confused expression on her face, the skinny woman responded by asking, “What is that?” Carey tucked the first page behind the others to reveal the second sign.

They are a Japanese rock group!

“VAMPS” is the popular side-project band of Japanese rock star Hyde. In Japan, “Hyde” has been a household name for over a decade.

Hyde’s major band, L’Arc~en~Ciel, keeps busy dishing out one hit single after another and playing Tokyo Dome (a venue with more than twice the capacity of Madison Square Garden) for the umpteenth time. This year, the band celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Hyde performing at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

Although Hyde doesn’t sport fame in the United States equivalent to that of bands like Green Day per se, his fame among American Japanophiles is enough to earn VAMPS a spot in the 2009 Vans Warped Tour and a 2010 World Tour including four concerts across America.

On Saturday, October 9th, I attended VAMPS’s concert at The Roseland Ballroom in New York City.

After reading the second sign with an increasingly confused expression on her face, the skinny woman asked “How long have you all been here?” Carey revealed the third sign.

Yes, we’ve been here ALL DAY.

VAMPS fan Carey and her signs.

My friends thought me insane for heading over to the venue at 5 in the morning. But I knew better. By the time I got to Roseland, there was already a block filled with VAMPS fans standing in line for the 8 p.m. concert.

By “standing,” I mean fans huddled in blankets, sleeping sprawled out on the dog-piss-covered Manhattan sidewalk.

Chatting in line, I could tell that these fans were truly dedicated.

According to Josh (a friendly, chubby VAMPS fan dressed in a kangaroo costume for some unknown reason), some fans had been waiting in line since Wednesday.

Many had come in from Syracuse, Connecticut and the like. Some – such as die-hard fan Mayline – had flown all the way from faraway places – in Mayline’s case, Puerto Rico – just for the concert. Mayline had even lied about a death in the family just to get time off work.

The skinny woman, confused as ever, continued asking questions. And for every question, Carey had a pre-made sign with the corresponding answer. “7 in the morning, and Carey was already an expert at this,” I thought to myself. “Only 13 hours to go.”

Taxi drivers stopped at the light would shout out their windows at us. We would shout back and, once the light turned green, they would drive away still chuckling.

Tourists stood with their cameras snapping pictures of us. Fans in line would retaliate with their own cameras. Upon seeing cameras flashing in their direction, the tourists would flee.

Theater-goers would ask us, “Is this the line for Jersey Boys?” or “Is this the line for Promises, Promises?” They would leave moping about how young people don’t appreciate Broadway anymore.

Sometime during the afternoon, the VAMPS American tour manager came around and handed out flyers with Hyde’s face on them. We figured the flyers would make our lives easier, a visual tool to show curious passersby.

VAMPS World Tour official flyer.

Unfortunately, the flyer just seemed to confuse people more.

Around 5 p.m. and about the gazillionth curious passerby, VAMPS fans in line started getting fed up with all the questions. Down the line, we started hearing people walking past, complaining, “Why didn’t anyone tell me there was a Justin Bieber concert today?”

By that time, the VAMPS line must have already reached the Letterman Show a few blocks up. I can only imagine the kind of hell that part of the line was getting. “What, you’re not here for Letterman? What’s wrong with you?”

After all her questions were answered, the skinny woman seemed disappointed. As she jogged away, she sighed, “Okay then, enjoy yourselves.” She didn’t even stop to read Carey’s last sign:

Thank you for your time!

Perhaps the skinny woman would have been less disappointed if Carey’s first sign had read “Bette Midler.”

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2012: L’Arc~en~Ciel went on to become the first Japanese band to headline Madison Square Garden. The “WORLD TOUR 2012 LIVE at Madison Square Garden” concert DVD will be released December 26th.

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Copyright 2012 by G. E. Gallas