I wanna be in the room where it happens!

Since first hearing the soundtrack to HAMILTON I have been mildly obsessed with this hip hop retelling of the life and loves of Alexander Hamilton. As soon as it opened in 2017 at the Victoria Palace Theatre, London, I began taking part in their daily ticket lottery, as I thought this was the only way I'd ever get to see it.

I was wrong! 

Months of entering the lottery proved fruitless, but as I was looking for a way to celebrate my birthday with my nearest and dearest, Martin suggested we bite the bullet and book to see the show as my present.

… And so, on the 16th of September we raced off to London to experience the West End cast for the first time.

We may  have been up in the gods but our seats were fab... 

...and we couldn't resist a little family selfie to celebrate.

The theatre has been completely refurbished for the show and is really beautiful inside and out.

So many beautiful lyrics in this production too...

"Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?"

"You built me palaces out of paragraphs"

"How lucky we are to be alive rights now"

"Let me be a part of the narrative"

Bonus Bucket - Part 1

With so many amazing things to do on my list I didn't think that this post would be needed but I was wrong!

After our amazing Spa break Fiona was not done with the treats and surprises… on the way home we visited Lainston House, where Fiona had booked us in for Afternoon Tea.

Our tea included...

Amuse Bouche

Fruit Soup

Savoury

A selection of Finger Sandwiches

Sweet

Fruit Scones

Plain Scones

(With Jam & Clotted Cream)

A selection of cakes, tarts and pastries

Tea

A wide choice of luxury leaf tea from Char in Winchester

It really is the little touches (like the happy birthday message) which make all the difference.

A beautiful way to end a perfect weekend of relaxation and friendship.

Spoiled with a Spa Day

How lucky I am to have friends like this...

As my 40th birthday creeps close the inevitable conversations about how I am going to celebrate begin to happen... long time friend Fiona came up with a wonderful idea and unknowingly helped me to tick off another one of my "50"!

I was treated to a top-notch breakfast at the Cote Brasserie in Festival Place after which I was driven on a magical mystery tour which ended with us arriving at Donnington Valley Spa.

After booking into the hotel we were free to wander through to the spa area. We had use of the pool, jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and aroma room as well as waitress service for refreshments and pretty much anything else we wanted.

We also had the option of paying for additional treatments, but we opted not to do that on this occasion - saving something for a return visit! 

I very much enjoyed the opportunity to just chill, even though it did take a bit of getting used to, the idea of "doing nothing" does not come naturally to me.

An afternoon of trying out the different spa facilities was punctuated with a lovely lunch and a delicious but also healthy smoothie.

We left the spa area late afternoon and headed to our room to pretty ourselves up for dinner in the hotel restaurant.

The restaurant was lovely and the food delicious...
so much so that I don't have pictures of my starter or main!

After dinner it was back to the room for a good nights sleep (although the beds were softer than either of us were used to) before we headed back to the restaurant for breakfast and then back to the spa for the rest of our stay.

Things got a little heated in the sauna!

The whole mini break was wonderful and I can't thank Fiona enough for treating me.

We MUST do this again!!!