13th November London: Courtauld Museum, Corinthia Hotel & Billy Elliot

Today I decided I wanted to go to the Courtauld Museum which I found in the London Pass book and which was also recommended on the Tripadvisor website. It is a small museum/gallery in Somerset House located on The Strand which is just around the corner from where I'm staying. This small gallery is famous for its Impressionist and Post-impressionist masterpieces and includes works by Boticelli, Rubens, Renoir, Gaugin, Monet and of course Van Gogh. It contains Van Gogh's Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear...so I had to see that! I skyped Mum and Dad first and after despairing about not being able to find any boots to fit me in Paris, Mum suggested a brand I may be able to get in London, so I googled them and found some locations nearby that sold them. I headed off to the TKTS office first and bought myself a ticket to see Billy Elliot tonight, then I went up to the theatre where Matilda is showing and bought a ticket to see that on Thursday night, and then I went off in search of boots! At Leicester Square there are a lot of people camped out so they can get a good spot for the Twilight premiere which is on tomorrow night...CRAZY!!! I went to Jones Bootmaker and the very helpful young man assisted me in sizes and trying on a couple of different pairs of boots and shoes...I bought all three (blush)!!!! I took them back to the hotel and then dashed up to the museum...and saw the Van Gogh.

I had agreed to meet Matt and Haley (DanceFever) today and we were going to go for lunch. I had no idea at that moment what was in store for me. In his texts Matt had said that his brother was doing a fashion show at the Corinthia Hotel near Trafalgar Square...and since I was staying in Trafalgar Square it would be a great opportunity to catch up before Matt and Haley headed for Nice. I have been wearing sneakers pretty much for 7 weeks now so I decided to put on a nice shirt and a pair of my new shoes...it was a good thing I did!!! I walked out of the Citadines and realised that the Corinthia Hotel was in fact right across the road from where I was staying. I messaged Matt to say I was in the foyer...and a VERY fancy foyer it was too! Matt and Haley came and got me and explained where I was going and what I was going into! His brother Michael is half of the couture fashion label Ralph and Russo..the other half is his girlfriend Tamara. I was told we had to be quiet because there were still clients in the penthouse...did you read that??? THE PENTHOUSE!!!! We went into what I am assuming is the 'servants quarters' of the penthouse and in there were two models with full hair and make-up and two assistants with a couple of racks of VERY expensive gowns designed by Tamara. Ralph and Russo sell their couture gowns by appointment only...to royalty and very, very rich people. Angelina Jolie and Beyonce have worn their gowns as well as a lot of Arab royals. They are designing Beyonce's outfit for the half time Superbowl entertainment! Clients make an appointment and they are picked up in the Rolls Royce Ghost, driven to the Penthouse, they meet with Michael and Tamara in the lounge room of the penthouse, the models show the gowns, they look through the sketches, choose their gowns and then there is also a jeweller in the dining room where they can also purchase jewellery if they like. Once the client left we were allowed to go into the penthouse and have a look around...I got to check out the jewels...worth millions!!! We went upstairs to the bedroom of the penthouse and there was a terrace with views over London, you could see the London Eye and Big Ben. We took some photos and then went downstairs where the butler made us a cup of tea and organised sandwiches and cakes for us to eat which we took up to the terrace. So here I was hanging out in the Penthouse apartment, having a high tea of sorts, with fashion designers, jewellers and models....and two PE teachers from Granville. It was a whole new world!!!! Michael suggested I be taken on a drive around London in the Rolls Royce Ghost as it and Fez the driver weren't doing anything. Just as we were about to leave Tamara got a phone call from some Arab princess that needed a dress so we were sent with some sketches to their studio in London to have the sketches photographed and emailed to the client. At the studio I was able to see the staff who were busy creating patterns, sewing calico models of the gowns and sewing gowns, it is quite an operation! Once the gowns are finished and ready to be shipped to the client, they are put into special boxes along with the sketch as they only ever make one of each dress. The boxes alone are worth around $5000! Then we had to get the sketches back to the hotel because they had another client coming at 7:30pm.The RR Ghost was something special!!! It is worth around 280 thousand pounds, has a TV on the back of each seat, you can adjust the comfort of your seat, you close the door with a button...I could go on and on but you get the picture! I had a wonderful day today and never expected an experience quite like this, I got to see a part of London that I could never have imagined, that whole way of life is extremely foreign to me (and for Matt and Haley too) but we had an awesome time!

Once I left them I went back to the hotel to get my tickets and head off to see my first show in London...Billy Elliot. I didn't get to see this production in Australia so it was my first choice here in London and it was fabulous...what a wonderful show! The dancing by those kids in the show was so amazing. I was glad I finally got to see it. An awesome but most unexpected day in London, I can't wait for what tomorrow has in store for me...it's going to be pretty hard to top today!