The One With FRIENDSFEST
10 September 2018
London, UK
FRIENDSFEST IS HERE!
It was located about an hour south of London in a town called Brighton, easily accessible by bus/train (although I didn’t realize you had to push the button to get the train doors to open and therefore I missed my stop). I got there early so I could take a look around before my set tour and check the shop before everything sold out. The merchandise was actually fairly priced compared to how events in the USA usually hike prices up.
They had multiple food trucks, all named things that were character or show related, as well as a bar with themed drinks.
Photo opportunities included: Phoebes cab, Ross and Rachel’s Vegas wedding, an enlarged version of the frame on the back of Monica’s door, the “PIVOT!” scene with Ross’s couch in the fire escape, and the title scene with umbrellas and the couch by the fountain. All of those were manned by crew members to take your photo except for Phoebe’s cab.
There was also a replica Central Perk where you could pose behind the counter, on the orange couch, and in Phoebe’s spot with a microphone and guitar. Every so often they did singalongs of Phoebe’s greatest hits and sometimes had a singer outside Central Perk. There was a place next to the setup of Central Perk where you could get coffee and they gave you a receipt from Central Perk! The minimum was £5 for a credit card so I asked the lady to bring it up to that and she said, “Would you like whipped cream and a flake?” I said I don’t know what that is but okay. She laughed. From what it looked like it was just chocolate that looked like it was rolled up.
My set tour was at 1530 (330pm) so I went to line up. They had real props from the show (in a glass case) including: the Geller Cup, Ross’s Überweiss laundry detergent, Phoebe’s guitar (which is insured for £15,000), Gwenyth, the Turkey that Monica put on her head, one of Joey & Chandler’s “Best Buds” bracelets, Huggsy, and more! Next up was Joey & Chandler’s apartment, fully furnished as it was on the show with the addition of the canoe (from tougher times). It was really cool. The magma doodle... Pat the dog.. the entertainment center! You got about ten minutes at each set and then they made everyone come out so you could get a photo of the whole thing empty. It was really well organized in my opinion and everyone was nice and willing to swap cameras for photos.
There was a quick photo op in the hallway between Joey & Chan’s and Mon & Rachel’s... I had wanted to bring some cheesecake but no food was allowed. Maybe next time I’ll just bring a fork!
Next was Monica and Rachel’s apartment... equally as cool as Joey and Chandler’s. If I go again I’d try to do more scene recreation instead of just sitting/standing somewhere and posing. I did remove the cushions from the chair like Joey did in The One Where No One’s Ready.
The last stop was Ross’s apartment (Ugly Naked Guy’s old place) where you could pop your feet up on the old apothecary table or pop out from the curtain to say, “Ahhh, salmon skin roll.”
After the set tour I grabbed a slice of pizza and a piece of cheesecake and watched some clips from the show. They did trivia but I wasn’t sure when the next round was and I had about an hour and a half to get back to my hotel so I headed back.
A girl I met at a bus stop in Iceland for about five minutes where we bonded over having anxiety that our buses weren’t coming was going to be in London the same time as me so she told me to let her know when I got back and we’d go out for my birthday. I met her (her name is Bella) at her hostel which was also a bar, Walrus Hostel & Bar. The entire night was quite interesting, I didn’t pay for a single drink and no one could believe I was 33. We went to a really “posh” bar across the street from the House of Lords where there were several people in suits who’d carried on drinking after work. Also in the area are Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.
And that’s all she wrote. HARRY POTTER TOMORROW!
