The one where I married my best friend…
The cast of Friends may have shut the door to Monica’s apartment for the last time 12 years ago but, after 10 series across 10 years (and constant reruns), this sitcom won’t be forgotten about any time soon. Now, Comedy Central’s FriendsFest is celebrating Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Ross, Joey and Chandler by providing the opportunity for fans to walk through, and take photos on, the iconic set.
The festival was in London for a one-off event in September 2015, but with tickets selling out in just 13 minutes it was brought back this year, from August to October, for a six-week tour of England’s stately homes – including Knebworth House, which I attended.
Our day began in Central Perk – behind the counter, on the sofa and up on stage for a “rendition of smelly cat”…
Next we went to Monica’s apartment – which was the only part of the day we had to choose a time slot for – as we had gone for 11am we were one of the first to arrive at the festival as the doors were opening. Before entering the apartment we became part of the opening credits as we spun the colourful umbrellas on the famous orange sofa. A few steps later and we were sitting down again, this time on Monica’s sofa (apparently there were a lot of sofas in Friends…) We then made our way round the room, stopping to look out of the window for ‘ugly naked guy’ then into the kitchen – ending by the purple front door.
While we were busy posing for a photo here we heard a cheer behind us– which we discovered was someone proposing just as the camera snapped to capture the moment on Monica’s sofa.
Overcome by the romance of it all, we rushed through Chandler and Joey’s apartment and headed for Ross and Rachel’s Las Vegas Wedding Chapel to get married ourselves…
Finally we headed over to ‘the silent disco’ (to celebrate our nuptials) which was the setting for the New Year’s Eve Party where Ross and Monica did their choreographed dance routine.
There is someone waiting in each and every spot ready to take your camera and capture the perfect photo for you.
Once you have finished exploring the set you can watch the entertainment on stage, grab a snack in Monica’s Moondance Diner as the waiter and waitress burst into spontaneous song, pose next to Phoebe’s yellow cab with a cWoffee from Central Perk or play table football at Ross and Chandler’s.
We expected to be finished well within the recommended 2 hours – but with so much to gossip about within the nostalgic setting, we were there nearer to 6… well, you have got to get your money’s worth, haven’t you?
Fancy sitting on Monica’s sofa for yourself? Then keep an eye out here.