When I get to Warwick Avenue...

A day on my own. Finally! Today I got up early, but not too early—exactly when I wanted to. I got ready to go and went to Kensington High Street. I got on the right tube by myself and I guessed I looked like I knew what I was doing because some English man asked me which tube he should get on if he was trying to get to Euston. I gave him directions and he looked shocked because he realized I was American afterwards. I got a good kick out of that. I went to a little café and got myself a big cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin and just sat there and people watched for a little while. Then I walked up and down Kensington High Street and went in almost every shop there. I got myself a cheap top and a pretty scarf for practically no money and I also got a new umbrella because the one I brought broke. And after it broke I lost it somewhere near Windsor Castle. I’ll just play it off like it’s a gift for the Queen or something. So there’s the count on things I’ve lost: 1; I don’t plan on losing anything else either. (Hopefully.) I went into all the shops on the high street, but most of them were WAY out of my price range. It was still fun to pretend that I could afford them and try them on anyway. I tried on a gorgeous pair of ALDO boots that cost around £150. If only…

Then I headed back toward the tube station with my purchases and went to Boots (a pharmacy/department store kind of place) to get some nail clippers and some lotion. I was looking through some of the makeup counters, just taking my time when this person came up to me with a handful of makeup. I say person because I can only assume it was a transvestite. She asked me if I’d like to see some makeup, and I didn’t want to be rude and I wasn’t doing anything in particular so I said, “sure.” She lead me to her makeup counter and started talking about the fact that I’m from the states. She was over six feet tall, so when I sat down in her very small chair she was basically bent over at a ninety-degree angle putting makeup on my face. Sorry, did I say makeup? I meant face paint! The counter was covered in boxes and brushes and brightly colored powders and eyeliners and I swear she put at least 15 different things on my poor face. Apparently my eyebrows are too light and undefined—I had no idea. She put three different things on them alone! She only did half of my face so that I could “see the transformation.” I tell you what—when she turned that mirror toward me and said, “look how it just opens up your eyes!” my eyes sure were wide! It was completely ridiculous! Half of my face looked ready for the stage…at a drag show! I felt so obligated to sit there for some reason; I can’t explain it! My eye was so surrounded and caked with grey and pink eye shadow and it looked terrible because a) those aren’t the right colors for my skin tone, and b) there was just SO MUCH of it! As if that weren’t enough, one eyebrow was dark brown and made me look much more shocked than I’ve ever actually been, and half of my face was covered in “Pink Shimmer Sprinkles.” It was too much to just walk away half done, so when she asked if she should do the other side I just nodded and gritted my teeth while she completed her masterpiece. Needless to say, I rode the tube back with my sunglasses on.

After finding a suitable bathroom to wash what I could off of my face, I rode the tube to Warwick Avenue. I only went there because I really like the song by Duffy. I took a picture of the entrance of the tube and then walked around the neighborhood for a while. It was gorgeous, and I think I found where all the rich people are. For the record, if I had to live in London my address would be 28 Warwick Avenue.

I’m pretty disappointed with the food here—not gonna lie. Everything is just so bland and so wrapped in bread and so covered in mayonnaise. The ham here is just gross—stay away from it. I was so hungry for something with some flavor that I went to McDonald’s today. It was also gross. I can’t wait to get back and get some good food with some actual flavor and a somewhat appealing texture! I took an excellent nap before hanging out with some of the girls at The Angel again tonight. It’s pretty much become our place here. It’s close by, it’s cheap, it’s never that crowded, and the bartender loves us. Perfect. Sara, Alex, Kathleen and I just sat around, had a drink and talked for hours. Perfect way to relax. We have to start class again tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to the fact that I have to be ready at 8:00 in the morning. Oh well—it had to happen eventually. We have to start doing our presentations this week and I’m not quite prepared. I will be by Thursday though. Tomorrow is the first day of the tube strike so we have to walk to class—even worse is the fact that we’re going to have to find our way to the Globe Theatre all the way in Westminster, and back. But I get to see Romeo and Juliet tomorrow, so I don’t think anything will be able to bother me!

I’m going to be so worn out from walking tomorrow!
Whitney