Spain, France, England 2025: 9/23/2025 Breakfast, Churchill War Rooms, dinner-Il Posto, West End show-Wicked

9/23/2025 Breakfast. Cranberry muffin and coffee for me. Going to take the tube. Walked to Earl's Court Station. District Line to Westminster. I'm just delighted that this is proving to be super easy with the tap in, tap out using our credit cards.

Short walk from Westminster Station to Churchill War Rooms.

Almost there!

Churchill War Rooms. Entry time 10:00 am. Admission cost 59.40£/$80.66 Museum that includes the historic Cabinet War Rooms, a secret underground headquarters used by the British government during WWII and the Churchill Museum which explores the life of Winston Churchill. You can tour the preserved rooms where the war was directed, see the Map Room left as it was in 1945, and learn about Churchill's life through personal artifacts. It was surreal to see actual photographs, articles of clothing, letters, and so much more. Admission included a free multimedia guide. I'm a fan of Churchill so this was a must for me. It did not disappoint. I was blown away by everything I saw, everything I learned. Very well done and well worth it. Spent 2 1/2 hours here. Gift shop was great. I bought so much. Mind the Gap ornament, pin badges, poppy earrings, poppy pendant, Churchill shot glass, poppy case for glasses, magnet, souvenir coin, and tote bag to hold all my loot. Cost 151.00£/$204.21

This was an interactive station where you could sit, pick a category from the list on the left and then fill in the blank with the correct phrase which is highlighted in dark yellow. If you're wrong the words you chose are red instead of the darker yellow. These are speeches that Churchill made. I did good!

Churchill feels betrayed

Now we head back to see more rooms of the Churchill War Rooms. Dining room, Mrs. Churchill's
Room...................................................................................................................................................

Gift shop items for sale

Guide book I bought

Xmas ornament I bought

Magnet

Shot glass

Souvenir coin

Poppy case for glasses

Glasses did not come with the case-they're mine!

Poppy pendant necklace and earrings I bought

Tote bag

We take the tube back to the apartment. Rest a bit and get ready for dinner and the show we're seeing. I'm excited as I've wanted to see Wicked for a very long time and now I am going to fulfill that wish. Cost for using the tube/TFL was 5.60£/$7.58 for each of us so round trip for us both was a bit over $15.00 Much cheaper than Uber!

As we exit Earl's Court Station I decided to stop at PAUL and pick up something for breakfast for us tomorrow. Richard wanted the pistachio croissant and I got an almond croissant. This boulangerie/patisserie is similar to the ones in Paris. Lots of tasty items in the case. Everything looked so good. Cost 7.80£/$10.55 I should note that PAUL does not accept cash-only credit card.

Il Posto. Reservation for 5:00 pm. Uber to the restaurant. Cost 20.70£/$27.99 When we arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The theatre is right across the street! I had picked this place as it had been recommended for its proximity to the theatre but didn't close how close it was until we got here! This is a really cute place-very warm and welcoming. Nice table. Our server was great. Drinks-sparkling water, a glass of Galileo Rosso for Richard, and a Pimms lemonade for me. We ordered a mixed salad of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots to share. Beef lasagna for Richard and the Tagliatelle alla Bolognese for me. We were both happy with our choices. Dessert-yes we have room! Pana cotta with berries for my husband and the Tartufo Classico for me. It was a toss up as to which was the better dessert. Cost 81.34£/$107.09 We have a bit of time to kill so we walked around just to see what's close by. Hamilton is playing at a theatre just a few minutes away. That was another show I was considering.

Uber to the restaurant

Theatre is right across the street!

Wine and Pimms

Side salad

Beef lasagna

Tagliatelle alla Bolognese

Panna cotta with berries

Tartufo Classico

Wicked. Apollo Victoria Theater. I've been wanting to see this show for a very long time. I used Seat Plan to figure out seats that would have enough leg room for my husband. We have seats in dress circle, row G, seats 18, 19. We are the only 2 seats in this row. Cost 148.00£/$197.05 In hindsight if I had to do this over I would use Seat Plan to find which seats would be right for us and then book tickets directly with the theatre. I would have saved money if I had done that. In the foyer area you could buy souvenirs like T shirts and also buy drinks. The show started at 7:30 pm. There was a brief intermission-about 15 minutes-and the show ended around 10:30 pm. I bought a program and a T shirt. Cost 37.00£/$50.10 The program was nice and I loved the T shirt that I got. The show is set in the land of Oz before and after Dorothy's arrival from Kansas. Explores the complex relationship between Elphaba (future Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (future Glinda the Good). Begins with citizens of Oz celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West and with Glinda the Good Witch appearing. Glinda reminisces about their past. I wasn't ready for the twist at the end of this show but I loved it. Great songs. Amazing performances. Scenery, music, special effects. You are not allowed to take any pictures, video, etc. during the performance so I had put my phone away. I was too slow to retrieve it, power it on, and take pictures of the cast during the final curtain call. I got one blurry not so good picture of Emma and Zizi hugging each other. I was blown away by the talent in this performance.