Day 4: Day in London

This is my last full day in London and I wanted to make the best of it. I told Matt that I couldn't travel all the way to London and not see the parliament building, big ben and westminster abbey. At least just see them! So we started off by heading there and saw the usual sites. I took some good tourist photos and I even made Matt walk into Westminster Abbey with me, which he had never actually been inside. It was Sunday so most of it was closed off, but I did light two candles at the church and felt proud that I took the time. We then moved on and went to the first "mall" in London. Yes, I went to a typical mall, but with not so typical stores. It was so incredibly busy, it was insane. We went to Marks and Spencers and I got my diet coke that I crave (it tastes like Coca LIght). Then we grabbed some grub at "Eat." and began our shopping. I looked mainly for a pair of boots, but didn't end up buying any in the end. The stores there were incredible, all high fashion and all high price. It was like all the expensive high end shops of London in once place. 

I did need some make up from the Mac Makeup store, so we made our way there. The oddest thing happened. I found the foundation I wanted and asked the nearest clerk if I could get the foundation in "light" (since I have the palest skin in the world). She said yes, looked in a few drawers then walked back over to me and said "I'm sorry, you can't actually get this here, we don't sell it." I looked at her very strangely since the foundation was clearly on display at the store, and responded "What? Really? Why not?" in my nicest tone. She quickly grabbed the display, said "this shouldn't even be out anymore, I am taking it to the back. We haven't been sent the foundation yet for the store." It was the oddest thing in the world. Matt and I looked at each other stunned and walked out laughing. I felt very discriminated against. After walking laps of the mall, we returned a couple hours later. I asked another clerk for the foundation and she politely found it and rang me up! I couldn't believe it, I don't know if the first clerk was an idiot or frankly just didn't like me. Very odd, but I got what I needed. :) 

I did buy a straightener at the local superdrug because mine broke on the 2nd day here. :( So if anyone needs a UK straightener once I return to the US, let me know. The shopping was great, but all in all I could only window shop. I love the store Paperchase, and I spent some time in there looking at all the fun things. I could spend hours in there, it is like a stationary/art supply/fun trinket store. I could happily own one. I did find a few items in the store that I think Gina Kovanda would love. A robot keychain and book mark was one item. And the other was a tape dispenser shaped like an old tape from a tape player. It was SWEET!!! So there you are Gina, a shout out to you!

We left the mall and headed to the Somerset House for ice skating!! It was so much fun!! We had to buy tickets for hours after we arrived, so we decided to grab dinner first. We went to Zicci, or something like that, I forget the name. It was an italian place and pretty good. I was overly excited because coke was served in a glass bottle. I choose coke over wine because I was that excited...I'm such a kid inside!! The restaurant is lined with wooden logs all around that you could write on, so I took the liberty to write "Matt and Anna, 11/08," just to mark that I had been there. Matt laughed, but hey it was fun! Matt asked me how many times I think I will fall while skating and I smiled and said "5." I asked him the same questions and he quickly said, "only once." I thought it was a bit cocky considering neither of us had ice-skated since childhood. 

We made our way back to the ice rink and dropped off our bags. Actually, I had to go through the line a couple of times because I tried to sneak my purse in and I got caught, oops! We went to the counter to pick up our skates and I quickly panicked because I had no idea what my shoe size was! So I quickly took my shoe off to look for the UK size in my current shoe. It said, UK 5.5, so I decided to order a 6. I asked the girl for a 6 and she came back with a 7. The 7 fit perfectly, so it all worked out. Matt also received a size larger than he asked for, I don't remember if that is typical skating practice, but moving on...

We went to Somerset House and it was really pretty. They had a very large Christmas Tree set up next to the rink with fun lights moving all around the ice. It really made it feel like Christmas. We stepped on the ice, and I forgot how hard it is to balance on ice skates! It was a bit scary and difficult but I made my way along and pushed myself forward. I used the ledge at first, but slowly moved away. Hilariously enough a little while after I pushed forward, I turned around to find Matt and he was clinging to the ledge near the beginning. To put it nicely he was TERRIBLE. And I started laughing so hard I almost peed my pants. I started teasing him about "only falling once" and laughing so hard!! Matt couldn't believe how terrible it was, but it was hard to skate I was laughing so hard! I should mention I was not much better but I could put one skate in front of the other and move myself along with out wobbling. I will give Matt credit, after about 5 times around he got much much better and by the end he and I were doing very well. You are in timed slots, which only last an hour, so our ice skating was limited. But it was so much fun that we laughed and smiled the entire time. I remember asking what time it was thinking it had only been about 20 min, but we only had 10 minutes left! It was incredible how quickly the time went. It was fun to see people who had no coordination move all over the ice with no control while others glided perfectly. Matt ended up falling only one time and got his knee wet on the ice. I was able to make it the entire time without falling once! One couple cut me off and I got really wobbly, but I was able to keep my balance and gracefully skate off. I was so proud of not falling! I included a link to the website so you can see it. It was so pretty and so fun. It was the perfect way to end the trip to London, I felt like a kid again! 

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ice_rink/default.asp

We went home after another exhausting day and chatted a bit before bed. It was a perfect last day in London with such great company. 

*A special thank you to Matt for making my trip so wonderful. He was a wonderful host and I couldn't have had a better time. I owe you one! 

Cheers!