Friendsfest 2016 is the place to be if you love Friends. Myself and my friends truly do. (I feel like I've already said friends too many times, bear with me on this one...) So naturally Haggerston Park Friendsfest was our destination on the 26th August. For £25 each, we were invited to visit the sets of Monica's apartment, Joey and Chandler's living room and Central Perk itself. No one who knows that Ross and Rachel were on a break and that Joey doesn't share food would be able to say no. Here's a sort of picture diary of what we got up to.
Our first point of call was our tour of Monica's apartment. In true Friends style, we were invited to take a seat on the couch and re-create the title sequence. We tried our best to think of something hilarious, but instead opted for the casual ladylike look...
Walking into Monica's apartment was surreal. We managed to take a photo in pretty much every corner of the apartment (the staff must have been sick of us by the end!) But hey, when in Monica's apartment! I couldn't help but notice how small it was compared to how it looked on screen. Even in our photos it looks huge! I also loved that we were actively encouraged to touch everything, sit at the kitchen table and on the sofa. I even looked for ugly naked guy out of the window, but alas, he didn't come in the ticket price...
Joey and Chandler's apartment was next on our list. Their living room was created for us to enjoy, including two super comfy lazy boy armchairs. We didn't get too many pictures here, purely because we were having too much of a good time. Here's one of us all goofing around in Joey and Chandler's canoe though...
Just a yellow taxi ride away was Central Perk, home to Rachel's questionable waitressing skills and Phoebe's inaugural performance of Smelly Cat. It didn't take us long to feel right at home and land ourselves a part time job...
We all then got the chance to pose with an artfully placed cup of Central Perk coffee. I've heard that its the best coffee in New York... Someone was also singing a beautifully out of tune rendition of Smelly Cat, which definitely added to the Friends atmosphere!
Friendsfest didn't just offer tours around sets and unique photo opportunities. No! On the hottest day of the year we were also treated to reclining deckchairs, parasols and stage entertainment. Comedy Central were playing the best bits from the TV show throughout the day, along with hosting competitions and games for us all to enjoy. I'm pretty sure we spent 3 hours reclined, eating 'Mockolate' waffles and crepes, chatting and singing Smelly Cat. We also took part in a silent disco, hosted by Joanne Joanne and Right Said Ted (*cringe*) from MTV Tracks. They taught us how to dance Ross and Monica's club dance. I'm pretty sure we all looked silly, but I'm going to crack that dance out at every wedding...
Our Friendsfest came to a close at about 6:30pm when we realised that we probably should start to make our way back to Kings Cross. If Friends has a special place in your heart, I'd 100% recommend that you experience what Friendsfest has to offer. Friendsfest 2016 is completely sold out, but 2017 isn't that far away!
