Ryan and I have recently discovered the secret to experiencing the wealth of London's cultural scene on a starving-student budget: "restricted view seats." Many cultural venues offer at least a handful of seats at ridiculously reduced rates due to a slightly obstructed view, ranging from sitting behind a pillar to a peculiarly placed arm rail. And so, with this new knowledge, Ryan and I found ourselves primping and preening ourselves on Monday evening in preparation for the London Philharmonic's Verdi's Requiem with Bart's Choir at the Royal Albert Hall, all for the price of 6 quid each! For a price that low, we'll sit behind a pillar any day! 
Our excitement and anticipation for this performance had been building and building for days. I was especially looking forward to the opportunity to dress up and experience some fine music, a welcome contrast to the scruffy, hermit-student listening to iTunes that I have turned into.
We took the tube and walked from Knightsbridge station along Hype Park. As the Royal Albert came into full view, we stopped in awe and took in the majestically grand Victorian architecture of the rotunda, made even more dramatic by the night lighting.
We climbed to the top level for our seats and were ecstatic to find that we had the best seats in the house! They're selling these for 6 pounds? Are they crazy?! There was indeed a bar obstructing our view of the lower right part of the stage, but we could see the entire hall beautifully and had prime views of the singers, percussion (very important for Verdi's Requiem), and organ pipes. Needless to say, we were tickled pink. And the music hadn't even started yet. Once the music did start, I was even more amazed as the music seemed to transport me to a celestial world that was deeply moving and powerful.
By the time intermission rolled around I didn't think it was possible to be any more surprised or amazed. But as I walked to the ladies' loo, I saw a couple of ladies eating Haagen-Dazs out of mini ice cream cartons. What?! I blinked my eyes hard, not believing what I saw, and looked again. Sure enough, elegantly dressed ladies were eating spoonful after spoonful of ice cream, and as I looked around, so was everyone else! "What's going on here? Is this really heaven? Verdi and ice cream?"
Apparently, it is quite common to eat ice cream at intermissions and is somewhat of a tradition that Ryan has experienced at other theatrical events throughout England. How brilliant!! I couldn't be more surprised and delighted! I love the mid-theater-performance-ice-cream-eating British!
It was an evening full of wonder and magic. But perhaps nothing was quite so dreamlike and surreal as eating ice cream straight out of the carton in my fanciest clothes at the Royal Albert Hall.
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