“Here’s your titty bar change!” Haha, I had to mention that quote that was told to us by our waiter at the Indian restaurant last night. Anyways, it’s been a while since I’ve updated you guys on my situation. I’m currently on the Eurostar (Train between London and Paris – and for those of you who are wondering “but Flo, there’s a large amount of water between the two cities” – well, it goes through an underground tunnel!). I’ve got 2h30 on this train, so I might as well catch up on this blog. Here it goes:

Last Saturday, I met up with Beatrice for an early breakfast at Oxford Circus before she had to go work at Banana Republic. When we parted ways, I walked around the area and went window-shopping on Regent Street. Afterwards, I headed to the British Museum; it was amazing and truly breathtaking. It was privilege to see such important historic artifacts, from the Rosetta stone to the original Pantheon sculpture. It is almost surreal that artifacts dating from thousands of years ago are in such great shape. I visited most of the museum and found myself spending most of my time looking at the jewelry and accessories dating from different eras in the show rooms. It’s interesting to see some of these items be brought back onto the runways and sold in stores. For example, I saw an ancient sculpture of the Greek god Hermes wearing winged sandals , which inspired McQueen’s latest shoe collection.(I was told that he visited this museum quite regularly for inspiration before his death.) (side note: winged shoes are a trend to keep an eye on. Designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Marc Jacobs and Beatrix Ong have also released their own versions)

Later in the evening, I headed to Beatrice’s apartment for a slumber party. We stayed in and caught up on everything. She also showed me some of her schoolwork from Istituto Marangoni (if you didn’t already know, I really want to go there!).

The next morning, we walked to nearby Camden Town to visit the Sunday vintage market – which is also called the Stable Market because the kiosks are located in horseboxes from an old stable. I made a single purchase that day: a legit army blazer! It is khaki (that color is in right now ladies!), has sweet original badges, and even has the soldier’s name written inside along with his ID #. After that, we went for lunch at an Asian restaurant in Tottenham before we parted ways again.

I went back to Regent’s college to hang out with Paul, and later visited The City, which is the financial district of London, along with the Tower Bridge. That evening, I was lucky enough to experience the true football (yes, I’ve replaced the word soccer from my vocabulary for the summer) spirit as the Chelsea team was playing. Let me tell you that most locals were sporting white and blue and chanting at any occasion they had! The Brits are true football fans, and I would never dare wear a rival team jersey around them, as I’d fear for my safety lol!

The night finished with a few drinks at The Volunteer pub near the college. (Ps. Ladies, if you are ever fortunate enough to visit London, you must order a strawberry beer as well as try Magner’s apple cider… mm!)

On Monday, my last day in the city of London, I woke up on the later side as I was so tiered from the previous night. When I finally got out of the College, I headed to Harrods, where I spent WAY too much of my time. I fell in LOVE with a pair of Valentino wedges, which I would have definitely purchased had I not had 4 months of traveling ahead of me (aka. Budget constraint). I also spent a lot of time drooling over Miu Miu’s s/s10 shoe collection – there’s just something about those bulky heels and that gorgeous silk material that just have me infatuated! The store is really something to see, despite the fact that most of us cannot afford 98% of the things in it.

After that, I headed to Istituto Marangoni with Beatrice since I really wanted to check out the school. It is jaw dropping! The school’s library is filled with Vogues, as well as all the issues of any other fashion magazine that you can think of, as well as loads of patterns and books on fashion. The sewing room is immense and filled with all the equipment you could ever need. Also, I was lucky enough to meet a Prof who teaches the Costume history class. We spoke for a bit and, it turns out that she’s from Sorel (my father and I’s hometown) and she knows my dad from way back in the days!!! What a small world, honestly.

Lastly, I went for my last supper with Paul and Beatrice in Brooklyn (aka. Little India). I ate the best Indian food of my life; definitely a must-do if you visit the city. Afterwards, we went to a shisha bar near the college where we befriended the Lebanese owner, Karim. I will definitely go back with Beatrice when I come back to London.

So, here I am now, on the Eurostar, writing you guys a novel! I should be in Paris soon. I’m entering a new time zone, so it’s time to adjust the electronics!

A tout!