This is a very late blog post. Not late in time of day but for how long ago this trip was; it was two Fridays ago now. I’ve been busy, what can I say.
Normally I wouldn’t write about an event so long after it happened but I think this was quite a special place that I’d like to share with you about.
Presents. I think long and hard about the presents I give. Nothing (very little) is just bought without a reason behind it. I’m not saying I’m the greatest gift giver ever *guffaw* but there’s a lot of back story that goes into my gifts, which means that socks don’t really cut it. And Dan’s birthday was no exception.
Looking for more of a memory maker than more crap to fill our flat with, I thought I would try and tackle his present and ticking off the bucket list in one fell swoop. I had two ideas for this, 1. Meet a penguin and 2. Drive a Ferrari. I contacted various zoos and car experience places about these two ideas but came back with zilch.
The penguins were either too expensive, sold out or weren’t available for weekend visits; the Ferrari experiences again were expensive and even more so if you wanted a weekend deal. So unfortunately it was back to the drawing board.
I needed an experience that was cheap(ish) but had the potential to be epic.
That’s when I thought about classic film watching. Dan and I have a dream that one day we will live in a house where we will be able to paint one of the outside walls white so we can sit in our garden at night and project our favourite films onto it. Our own private outdoor cinema. But as this is just a pipe dream at the moment – a quirky cinema will have to do.
Googling ‘classic movie cinemas UK’ I came across Prince Charles Cinema in London which is showing a lot of the Studio Ghibli works – EXCELLENT! I thought on first inspection…But dammit, they’re only showing them on Sundays – and I knew that as much as Dan would enjoy it, he wouldn’t want to be travelling around London on a Sunday. Sundays are a day for resting – after all.
I then found a showing of a film I knew he liked but hadn’t seen for a very long time, the Japanese anime Akira and it was showing on a Friday night! Still not as good as a Saturday as it meant making our way to London after a day of work but I went for it anyway. Plus you got a free beer with every ticket – every little helps and all that.
I then looked up some places to eat around the cinema (and at their reviews) and found two places that looked good. 1.Tokyo Diner – we could have a proper Japanese night of it, or 2. Sartori Pizzeria – I don’t think anyone realises just how much Dan loves pizza and I knew he’d pick this over anything else any day of the week.
I did get him some other bits too but they’re not important for this. Just assume there was more thought put in there too.
So, the day arrives, work is out of the way and we’re off to get the train to London!
First stop (for us not the train) is Waterloo station and from there we make our way to Leicester Sq and to – you guessed it – Sartori Pizzeria.
Honestly, the service was somewhat lacking and actually trying to order the food with the waiter left us wondering what was even going to turn up on our plates, but when it did – my god!
The best pizza I have ever had was, surprise surprise, in Italy earlier this year at a little place we found in Florence. In fact, it wasn’t just the best pizza I’d ever had, it was the best meal I’d ever had. I shit you not! And this place, right here in London, England, came up a bloody close second.
I had the fungi pizza and Dan had a pizza/calzone half-and-half thing (which looked very good too as you can see).
The base was heaven itself. It was soft and crunchy and gooey and savory and slightly sweet – all at the same time. I would eat it all day every day if I could. However I couldn’t event eat the whole thing as it was so filling! Sad times.
After our meal we had a little bit of time to kill so went for a stroll around China Town and stopped to watch some of the street performers too. We went past the Tokyo Diner – the queue was coming out the door! Must be good, I will definitely have to try this place one day!
Out of time, we made our way to the Prince Charles Cinema, behind the main part of Leicester Sq. Unfortunately there was scaffolding all around it so couldn’t get any photos of the place and it was, obviously, dark inside the cinema so the photos we did take didn’t come out very well at all.
Our tickets entitled us to one free beer each too so we got these at the bar and made our way into the theatre. The seating was odd to say the least. It rose at the back of the room, dipped in the middle and rose again at the front. The screen was quite high up the room to accommodate this – who would have thought to design it like this?! Madness. But it made it a different experience.
The film itself – god knows what was happening – Dan enjoyed it so that’s all that matters – although he couldn’t explain to me what happened at the end of it either – very odd film. People were laughing in different places too and I didn’t get it – it was all a bit odd but the atmosphere was excited and fun and it felt like we were all sharing a secret den together – that only we knew about.
The variety of films that they show at the PCC is terrific! They have sing-along and speak-along viewings, movie marathons, classics, foreign, cult and newer films – there’s something for everyone.
Next up, we’re considering the Dark Knight trilogy movie marathon – starts in the evening and finishes at 5 the next morning! At least we won’t have to worry about making the last train home or finding somewhere to stay in London!
We had a great night in London and I’d most definitely recommend both places – the PCC and Sartori Pizzeria – bellissimo!
Lisa Tiller 