What I did on my Whovian Vacation (part 1)

[loveslashangst]

Again, safe for work, but hidden behind the cut for purposes of not pic-spamming my f-lists

	The Coat. It calls to me. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. The Cooooooooooat. Whether or not you share my on-screen fetish for Jack's RAF coat -- and swishy coats in general -- if you saw The Coat in person, I can almost guarantee you'd find the urge to pet it overwhelming. Leda took this pic at the Cardiff Dr. Who exhibition, which is a permanent exhibit, though apparently the specific stuff on display changes depending on what's available. (And though the depth and breadth of their Who swag WAS impressive, the BBC is still treating Torchwood like Who's ugly stepsister in terms of merchandise.) The exhibit had TWO of Jack's coats (One Series 1 Who and one Torchwood) and one of Ten's brown pinstripe suits. I was a HAPPY camper. FWIW: I haven't lusted after men's costume like this since Farscape's Scorpius gave the BDSM treatment to coat and tails and the Scarran Emperor made me think longingly of the evil things I could do with textured red leather. I got so close to Ten's pinstriped suit I could examine the seams in detail and file away all the proportions for later consideration. What do I intend to do with a my-size replica of Ten's brown pinstriped suit and brown coat (which was LOVELY and on display at the London Dr. Who exhibit)...? *giggles to self* I did mention I'm an insane, award-winning costumer, right?
	Fainting of squee at THE ORIGINAL CAPTAIN JACK COAT!!! I know the colour is wrong. I know it has all the historical accuracy of a Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster. I know that whoever decided JB needed to have a ridiculously short crew-cut should've been court-martialed. But it's the COAT. The original Coat. The one that started it all. And if I'm smiling like a DORK (which I am in this very unfortunate shot) I hope you'll pardon me. If security had been any more lax, I might own this coat now. Well, possession being 9/10ths of the law own. Own in a sort of Captain John Hart stalker (but no I'm not a bunny rubber) morality sense. I know this is Series 1 Who because it's grey, not the blue of the other one. I will love this piece of costuming to the end of my Whovian days, because of what it stands for on so many levels. So. Stuff I learnt at the exhibit: 1) Billy Piper's a lot taller than I thought. Took me by surprise, as I thought she was more my height, but she has to be at least 5'8". Nice clothes too. 2) No one does "cheesy exhibit" like the British (I lump in the London exhibit too, though that one was much more exhaustive. Have to bug Leda and see if she got any pics.) The only thing sillier than Who's exhibits was the tour of the Cadbury Factory, which was as close as I'll likely ever get to a real-life acid trip. (And you MUST go on the ride, if only to know what Disney would be like on 'shrooms.) In both the Who exhibits and the Cadbury run, I could tell about 50,000 school outings have been through them, as there are very few things harder on exhibits than excited (or bored) schoolchildren. 3) Donna is Made of Win if for no reason other than that she has human proportions. Like real-person OMG I could fit that proportions. YAY, REAL WOMEN! 4) Ten's not as thin as I'd thought, though the blue-pinstripe-on-brown-suiting of my favourite of his costumes is to DIE for. It was almost enough to make me consider dying the white pinstripe blue on the 16 yards of suiting I bought. Almost. 5) Anyone who's NOT a Whovian (or Torchwood fan) in Cardiff is missing half the experience. Yes, the reconstructed castle is lovely. Yes, the town is so cute I could just squee. Yes, Wales does have some of the loveliest countryside in Britain (no wonder the English wanted it). But in the end, it was because Leda and I are die-hard Torchwood-Whovians that we saw all the best stuff. And speaking of that...
	That's a bloody big fountain Leda and I had one day in Cardiff. We did it as a day-trip, driving the 110 miles (one way) from Stratford-Upon-Avon (where she rented the world's CUTEST cottage). She thought I was mad to want to do 220 miles in a day. I (being American) insisted it wasn't insane. It was, but well worth it. Wales is lovely, and Cardiff herself is adorable for a big city. Now that I think about it, it reminds me of San Diego: the climate is VERY different, but both are coastal cities with blue-collar roots and long histories (the first landings at San Diego go back to the very early 16th century, which is impressive for America), both are friendly places as big cities go, both have passing lousy public transit (though Cardiff kicks San Diego's ass in that regard), both are similar in size (San Diego's bigger in terms of population), both rely on the tourist trade, both have rebounded financially lately, and both are MUCH more interesting on foot. Anyway. I digress. This is The Fountain, right across from the Millenium Centre, which has become a landmark for any good Torchwood fan. If you don't get why my standing on a crumbling paving stone is squee-worthy, you need to go back and watch more Torchwood. REALITY CHECK: How nuts am I? I traveled 5600 miles (and then drove 110 more) to stand on a paving stone because, in the show, it's a secret entrance to the Hub and Torchwood 3 herself. *makes "loser" L-sign on own forehead* Then again, that's probably part of why you love me -- I'm one of the biggest Torchwood-Whovian geeks of them all. The fountain wasn't on while we were there -- it would've made a gloomy, rainy day all the more miserable, so I can't really cry any crocodile tears. There are scenes in Torchwood (starting with Episode 1, Series 1) in which the fountain isn't on, so I figure it's a canon experience either way. BTW, if you didn't notice in the early shots, I'm in what I affectionately refer to as the "Time Suit", which is black with silver pinstripes. I replaced all the plain black buttons with ivory watch-face buttons, and added real Chuck Taylor Converse trainers and a battered oiled-canvas coat. Yeah, it's not Ten, but it's still my own private in-joke. And last year, I learnt how silly it is to expect to stick out wearing a pinstriped suit in London. EVERYONE wears them, male and female. I've never been so annoyed to find I blended in. (I DID mention the "dork" part, didn't I?)
	That's a bloody big fountain (closeup) I hate modern architecture. Let's get that out of the way right now. If it was built before about 1909, I'll probably sneer at it. (Leda's the opposite, but that's part of what makes her an interesting wife.) Anyway, that said, the Millenium Centre is one of those buildings that's so ugly it's interesting, and I would dearly love to see this fountain sometime when it's in operation. The shots of the MC that you see in TW don't really do it justice -- the thing has so many different textures and materials that it gives the impression of almost being one big boulder of sedimentary rock, complete with striations. And it's a testament to design that -- even without the water -- the fountain makes a striking sculpture. That it has The Paving Stone in front of it doesn't hurt anything either. Apparently, it's a source of constant amusement to the locals that so many tourists want to have their pictures taken standing on what is -- admittedly -- a piece of pavement that is kind of in need of repair. OH! And before I forget... I complained at the lack of Torchwood swag, though Leda did get her Weevil action figure and I got my Jack action figure. (I couldn't resist.) The next series will include IANTO and CAPTAIN JOHN HART! *swoons with geeky glee* They actually look like decent likenesses, though. Jack's face bears only a passing resemblance to JB, though it's MUCH better than the scary-scary toys that theoretically portray CE as Nine and DT as Ten. Oh, and I bought them out of TW books at the London exhibit, which had more Torchwood-related swag. Still haven't read any yet, but we'll fix that soon enough. I had to know what canon stories are like, as it HAS occurred to me that (with a little pruning and self-censorship) I might attempt a for-hire fic. We'll see. I'm entertaining ideas as we speak, and will likely not do anything serious until I see the way they develop Ianto in the coming five-episode mini-series.
	Yeah, they repainted, but that is THE TABLE "Out of Time" anyone? IIRC, this is the table where Owen Harper and Diane Holmes had dinner. The restaurant is called "Pearl of the Orient" and it's upstairs at the wharf. I DID mention I was a geek, right? Leda and I had a lovely lunch, including prawn crackers (which are FAR too addicting to be legal) and noodles and rice and a strange garnish made of flash-fried, salted seaweed. (Lesson #1 of travel -- never stick up your nose at any new and strange thing; it was quite good.) The wait staff were fairly attentive to the point of HOVERING. We were among only two parties in the restaurant, the other being a large group of Welsh women which I gathered to be the Cardiff equivalent of the Red Hat Society. (Older women who hang out for fun and friendship.) I spent a lot of the lunch drinking in the rolling Welsh syllables, as there was a decided dearth of genuine accents. Everyone seemed to prefer RP, which gets boring after a while. And I hope to be half a sprightly and boisterous when I reach their age. (Though a perverse part of me wondered what they would make of the bisexual Torchwood-Whovian smut author and her wife at the next table.) The only unfortunate part of this part of the journey (and indeed, one of the very few truly bad things that happened on the trip) was that somewhere between the Whovian exhibit and the restaurant, I lost my black scarf. I wouldn't mind, except that it was a very NICE scarf and I'd hand-crocheted it as a gift for my dad, who'd loaned it to me. I think the Weevils got it, and chalk it up as an offering to the gods of Torchwood.
	OMGOMGOMGOMG IANTO SQUEE!!!! Lunch is over. Leda confides that when she and the Husband visited Cardiff earlier this year (2008), there were two major things they missed: Cardiff Castle (which I insisted on seeing FIRST, as I never miss the chance to see a nifty castle, especially if it can trace its heritage back to the Romans), and Ianto's Tourist Office. Having had success at the former, I insisted we look for the latter. Ianto being my fav character in all of Torchwood-Whovian fandom (though admittedly Captain John, Nine, and non-immortal Jack rank close behind), I HAD to find this piece of him. So we headed for the docks. I followed my nose and my instincts and went down to the lower boardwalks, turned right, and THERE IT WAS. #1: I got to loiter on the walkway used in "Fragments" when Ianto is trying to woo Jack with the best coffee in the universe. "Morning!" #2: I found the door to the Tourist Office itself. It's actually not a real storefront but a facade, and is clearly in storage, waiting for the next series to begin filming. In this pic, I'm reaching out to the intercom, fantasizing in my geeky little mind that Ianto might actually answer. I have to say that, of all the things I wanted to see in Cardiff, this was #1, even more so than The Paving Stone. I can't explain why, but this location appeals to me on a deep level. Perhaps it's the reality of it -- the idea that in a little, non-descript, innocent place is the entrance to something amazing. I think it's why I've always had a love of wardrobes. ;) (And yes, that was a C.S. Lewis reference.) OH! And we DID find the building that Jack is standing on in the opening credits. (Big, tall White building with the odd open-cube structure on top.) You can see it from the top floor of Cardiff Castle, though at street level it's obvious why Jack would use an apartment complex to do his protective hero-y posturing, as it dwarfs everything in the near vicinity and does provide an ideal vantage point. Though I DO think they're call the cops if an actual guy tried to scale the thing. That's a f*** of a long way up. Leda took me 'round to the alleyway where the opening scene of "Everything Changes" was filmed, though the parking garage where Gwen looks down on the original team of TW3 has been torn down. Cardiff seems to be booming lately, and almost everything was under construction. Bad for Torchwood-Whovian geeks. Good for the local economy. And Cardiff gets major credit for being so incredibly walkable. Very rare in a modern city. The area near Cardiff Castle is beyond adorable and VERY well-suited to tourist foot-traffic. High marks from this traveller.
	Officially the most OBSCURE Whovian fansite in London Okay, I had one night in London at the end of the trip. (Leda and ButMad and I started off in Dublin for the weekend, then we flew to Birmingham and drove to the cottage at Stratford-Upon-Avon. We met up with a dear friend of mine to see HAMLET, then ButMad headed off to her friend's place to the east while Leda and I did a whole heapin' lot of day trips to see standing stones and palaces and Cardiff and a VERY silly chocolate factory. Then we drove back to London Heathrow Airport and took the Underground into London.) Leda and I had an afternoon out in and around Piccadilly Circus, in which we visited the inestimable Fortnam & Mason, a department store so posh it has a royal pedigree that goes back 300 years. (Last year was its tri-centennial, 1707-2007.) FWIW, F&M kicks the ass of Harrods. Very expensive, but worth every penny. I recommend the strawberry balsamic ice cream and the marzipan. ButMad also said the chocolate was to die for and O liked the sweets. Then we headed to Hammersmith station and our rendezvous with Leda's dad and dinner. Why, out of all the lovely Indian places in London, would we insist on "Chula"? It's not in the nicest part of town. It's not the trendiest spot -- though the food was FANTASTIC and VERY reasonably priced. (The interior was lovely too.) "Chula" is where Stephen Moffat and Russel T Davies used to hang out to talk Whovian scripts. It's also where they plotted out "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" over dinner. Remember the spaceships in TEC and TDD? Jack's ship is a Chula Warship, and he's trying to pawn off a Chula ambulance as another warship. Why "Chula"? Because that's where RTD and SM liked to catch a bite as they planned out some of the most beloved episodes in Whovain canon. Top THAT for obscure. (Oh, I didn't fancy the gulab jamun from there. One can only hope the dessert that Ianto ordered for John was a bit more palatable. The other desserts were FAB, though.) To sum up: This really was the most fun trip I've been on in quite some time. I ate hearty soups in the oddest places, saw lots of castles and cathedrals and standing stones. Went on oodles of walking tours. Saw HAMLET, gave the TARDIS away, and got to be a complete geek in two lovely cities. And everywhere I went were echoes of the fictional people I love so much, with whom I've shared my life for more than a year and for several hundred thousand words. Life is pretty damn good.