I've Got the London Look

I have arrived in London, and boy is it spectacular! The streets are bustling, the architecture is phenomenal and on top of everything, my midwestern accent is in the minority! Unfortunately, my trip here was not so amazing…

After waiting anxiously in line at O’Hare–as well as countless calls to Jeff (my travel agent…yes I have a travel agent) and making everyone behind the airline front desk feel about this |  | big, we were rescheduled for the next 6am flight to DC, to then make the trek to London. We did get two $10 vouchers for food, but naturally my five star dinner of pizza and one chilled glass of pinot grigio would cost $25, but who’s complaining? Finally, nearly 12 hours after our initially scheduled flight, we were on our way!

I cannot even put into words how jet-lagged I felt on Wednesday. Getting hit by a bus + the world’s worst hangover + the tilt-a-whirl might get close. Regardless, we spent a blissful day touring the streets of London, where we saw all the fancy sites like Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey (which I absolutely must go back to), as well as some of the most expensive homes in all of Great Britain. The streets here are beautiful and authentic, although they definitely make navigation a challenge. We finished off the night with dinner at the Crown Tavern…which sounds fancy but wasn’t nearly all that I’d hoped for. After waiting over an hour for our entrees, my fillets of Gurnardo with riscotti were simply medicre. I’m holding out for the next few dinners (Asian tonight) but I’m even more excited to try some food that isn’t so similar to AJ Bombers. Kidding-I love AJ’s.

Anyway-today has been thrilling as well. We had a quiz this morning (that I prepared for like a champ and probably got 200% on it, especially after getting eight hours of sleep in the last three days) and listened to a lecturer from a local marketing agency. While he was quite interesting, we then ventured out to Oxford Circle for a lunch rendezvous and shopping! I’ve been trying my best to not scream ”I’m a tourist, please take my bag!” by looking confident and not stopping in the middle of the road with a map, today was an exception. Toting my souvenir bag and ‘I <3 London’ sweatshirt like nobody’s business, I did some serious work in all the London shops (picture New York city on roids…and yes, every shop was the same). Regardless, I’m quite happy with some of my findings, although feel like I can’t quite leave until I’ve bought a purse that, when others ask where on earth I got that gorgeous bag, I can humbly reply, “Oh, this? Yeah, I got it in London at this store that doesn’t exist here. Maybe you can find a similar one at the mall.”

But enough about the shopping. I’m seeing a show tonight that I will gush about later (when my internet finally gets attached) and continue to update with details of my awesome travel experience. One thing I’ve noticed (of the many, I suppose) is that Londonites are not the most polite people…I wouldn’t call them rude by any means, but they seem very surprised when I say “Excuse me” in a store and often do that weird shoulder-ramming thing on the sidewalk. Alas, learning something new everyday. Off to another agency!

Cheers :)