The Nutcracker Ballet and streets of London

Today, we were off to the Ballet.  A first for Pete and a very long time since I had been to one.  The day dawned bright, sunny with blue skies, and reasonably warm.

We arrived at Liverpool stations and spend the rest of the day before the ballet, just being tourists and enjoying the sights.  Initially there weren't that many people about but as the day progressed, the crowds increased and a definite holiday spirit was in the air.

The 'rafters' of Liverpool Street station..

and part of a sculpture at one of the entrances..

The 'Gherkin'

Reflections in glass

The Monument (part of )

Across London Bridge, the view to Tower Bridge

And this picture, is purely a reflection of ..

the opposite side of the river..

Southwark Catherdral which was near a market.. ;)

Near Southwark Catherdral was Southwark Market.... loads of cooked food stalls.. and we'd not found anywhere for brekkie yet..

So it was a Boston Sausage with onions in a roll for me, and a double Burger for him.... both looked delicious... and they were..

The Golden Hynde..

St. Paul's Cathedral in the distance..

and The Globe Theatre

The Millennium footbridge

Trees outside the Tate Modern Art Gallery

Blackfrars Bridge.. the supports of the old one.. to the right of the pillars is the new bridge under construction.  The roof is completely of solar panels.. be interested to see it when complete.

And just two of the pictures under the the bridge.

Further along at the Southbank..

The London Eye

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben across the river

We walked over Waterloo bridge for views from the other side.

These are public gardens the run along the front of the buildings (on the left)..wonderful green spaces.

Cleopatra's Needle

The Savoy Hotel

and the Coliseum.. our destination..

Everywhere in Trafalgar square were dozens of people dressed as Santas... quite an impressive site when seen all together!

Street artists sitting absolutely stationary..

The 'Ball' at the top (with the word Coliseum on it) rotates

And so onto the Ballet.  It was The Nutcracker performed by the English National Ballet.  The Coliseum as a theatre is magic in itself... really beautiful and lends itself so well to a ballet such as the Nutcracker.

Beautifully performed, and dressed, it was as entertaining as I'd remembered it.  The humour in the first part came across so well which is a credit to the dancers.  We were high up in the balcony and the seats a little small and hard, but this didn't detract from an entertaining and highly skilled performance..

so... what's next on the cultural agenda?  La Boeme in a few weeks :D