Teddy Does London

My dear friend Ted, or as Elle, Lisa, and I like to call him Teddy Boo Boo Boo Boo, has just packed his bags and is headed to the most amazing city on earth. London!  Ok, so I have never been, but it is the place where 85% of my dreams take place.  For those of you who don’t know, I am absolutely, positively obsessed with EVERYTHING British!  Teddy has been making me insanely jealous with all of his amazing pictures from his morning runs.  Well, ok not the running part, we all know I don’t run, just the being in London part.    

Teddy did not do the proper research before hopping the pond, and is asking for suggestions on places to see and things to do.  So, I thought I would make Teddy a list of British things he needs to do, see, taste, and watch in order to immerse himself in the culture.  Of course, go to all the amazing museums, and the typical tourist stuff like riding the London Eye, touring Tower of London, and trying to make a palace guard laugh, but these are the random things that you might not have thought of.     

1. Go to Selfridges!  Selfridges, also known as Selfridge & Co., is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge (a bad ass American). The flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened 15 March 1909.

      

2. While you're at it, watch Mr. Selfridge!  That way you know why Selfridges is so freaking cool!  I mean Jeremy Piven!!  
3. The Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens.  This can be found in the true classic film Hook.  Teddy, this is a must see for every lost boy!    

4. Have Afternoon Tea.  The British Empire was built on the principle that everything stops for afternoon tea.  I even found you a very masculine place to enjoy this time-honored British tradition, the Reform Social & Grille!    
5. Hit some historic Pubs.  Here is a great list with helpful reviews!  Prove to the Brits that you can get boozy with the best of them!  Oh, and don’t forget the fish and chips!    
6. For God sake WATCH DOCTOR WHO!  I have only been telling you this for months, but maybe now you relieve how important it is to have a favorite Doctor! At the very least you will understand Lisa’s and my references.  (PS. Bow Ties are cool!)

7. Go to TONS of shows on the West End!  Think Broadway but with stars like David Tennant, Matt Smith (people you would know if you watched Doctor Who) and amazing original shows!!  It’s not just the great theater that you can catch here, also look for new bands and DJs playing free shows trying to catch their big break.  
8. Be in the Audience for a recording of a BBC show!  It is free and frankly pretty cool!  You can see what is taping soon and apply for your free tickets!  I highly recommend the Graham Norton Show if you can!  I would give you a $100 if you told a story for the Red Chair.  Also, just watch the Graham Norton Show every week!!  You will thank me.      
9. Hear people speak their minds at Speakers’ Corner.  At the north-east tip of Hyde Park near Marble Arch, Speakers' Corner is where anybody and everybody can jump on an old crate and voice their opinion every Sunday.  Teddy, since you won’t be able to argue politics with us at Happy Hour this might be a perfect spot for you to debate!  
10. Go to the races, a polo match or some other function where the pretty girl on your arm is wearing an amazing, yet silly hat.  I vote for polo because that seems more British!  

Of course there are a million other nerdy things I would do, like go to Kings Crossing and take my picture at platform 9 ¾, but I left those off because I am saving them for my visit!  Wouldn’t want Teddy to have to do them twice.  

More than just Teddy being in my dream city, I am jealous of this amazing life adventure he is getting to have.  Moving to a new city, a new country, with so many possibilities in front of you must be exhilarating!  Sometimes I think I started my career too soon, that I didn’t give myself time to explore the world, and now I won’t be able to until I am old and too tired to.  Well, thanks to Teddy I will be going on at least one adventure.  I am making my way to jolly old England this Spring whether Teddy wants me to or not. :)   Cheers!

Nerd Alert! ..... The Doctor is In!

I do not try to hide the fact that I am a gigantic nerd.  A well-dressed nerd, but a nerd nonetheless.  I often have nerdy obsessions, and my current one is Doctor Who?  It combines my obsession with everything British with my obsession with sci-fi and the supernatural.  Add a quirky good looking “doctor” in a bowtie, and it becomes irresistible for me.  Man, I do love a good bowtie!  The Doctor is clever, fair, and just a little bit lonely.  Even though he is an alien, there are parts of him that are so distinctly human.  His love for humanity, his need for companionship, his demand for justice, all add to his ever complicated character.  The Doctor is still a mystery even though viewers have learned different tidbits throughout the extensive run of Doctor Who?  I am by no means a Doctor Who? expert, but I am now a huge fan!  

This week marks the 50th Anniversary of Doc Who? and I can’t get enough of the marathons and specials.  I asked for TARDIS socks for Christmas, I swear the color copier in my office is a Dalek,  and if I was ever to get a tattoo it would be “Dreamer of Impossible Dreams.”  The Doctor represents hope, the idea that caring is important.  The doctor once said, “  You know that in nine hundred years of time and space and I’ve never met anybody who wasn’t important before.”  I find beauty in the idea that everyone he meets is important, that every person that he encounters in life has some significance.  People matter to him.  In a world where I often feel irrelevant, the idea that I matter is a comfort, to be brilliant is a challenge.  

If you were to ask me who my favorite Doctor is that would be a difficult question to answer.  I have an equal love for the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, and the 11th Doctor Matt Smith.  I love them for different reasons though.  

Tennant, of course is funny and quirky, but he has a strong commanding presence about him.  He has a confidence about him, and he knows his doctor is very clever, brilliant even.  There is also something kind of mad about him, something that can snap if pushed just a little too hard.  Death hath no fury like a scorned 10th Doctor.  He also loves and does all he can to protect his companions, and Universe.   

Then you have Matt Smith, the eleventh Doctor, the dream boat.  Young, quirky, full of life, and even just a bit odd in the most charming way.  The 11th doctor sees the wonder and possibility in the world, the good in people, the power of love.  The way he believes in people with such desperate hope is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.  I would love for the eleventh doctor to take my face in his hands, look me in the eyes, and tell me that I’m brilliant like he so often does with his companions.  I want to marry Smith’s Doctor (Sorry River Song), or really just Matt Smith himself!  Maybe it is just the bowtie, you all know my weakness for a good bowtie.  I also happen to like the fez he wore from time to time.  But it is not the bowtie or the fez, it is the light in his eyes, it is the way that he has a direct line to my emotions.  That is why I fancy him.  For those of you not as obsessed with everything British like I am, that mean I have the hots for him.  

Doctor Who? is always changing, evolving, and every doctor is his own man with his own adventures and companions.  That is why it stays exciting, and keeps people engaged.  I love sitting on my couch exploring the Universe with the Doctor, going on grand adventures, and losing myself in the magic of the TARDIS.  

Geronimo!