Travel Diary: Day 4 London

So the Lanvin x H&M launch is a few days behind the North America launch and I lay in bed the night before contemplating whether I should wake up early or not.  Do I really need to find more excuses to spend money? Oh but it’s Lanvin. When will I ever own Lanvin?  In the end my tiredness got the better of me and I didn’t get out of bed til 9:30am. 

By the time I got to Oxford Circus, it was just before 11am and I stood in line upstairs only to be re-directed downstairs.  As I got in line, a plethora of women started arriving behind me, but I didn’t wait too long at all.  While I waited my eyes targeted in on my MUST HAVE items. I spotted the red necklace on a rack around a hanger and I spied the one shoulder dress on a rack 5 feet away.  After about 20 minutes or so I’m in and I snatch that necklace.  Think I accidentally stole a necklace that was on display (shhh!) but I never knew, I just thought someone had left it around a jacket as it was on a rolling rack.

I run over by the dress and wonder why no one else is there snagging my favorite dress of the collection.  Within a couple minutes other women are beside me and grabbing their size.  I was standing there confused because I don’t know how US sizing translates into UK sizing.  Fortunately my fellow lady shoppers help me out and I manage to grab the only one shoulder dress in dark purple in my size.  I feel like it was meant to be.  Not only is the dress the last one in my size, it ends up being about $35 cheaper thanks to the conversion rate, plus taxes have already been included in the price!  AMAZING!  I tried everything on, on top of my clothes because I can’t bring myself to wait in the winding change room lines.  After helping my cousin navigate the menswear department for his items, we check out with little delay!  Getting special H&M collections in London was a much saner experience than I’ve ever had stateside.

As I am a bit obsessed with window displays I found amusement in the ultra colorful and  whimsical holiday windows of Selfridges.  While it wasn’t the magical world of Harrods windows, it was still a lot of fun.  I’m a big fan of the Barbie window in particular and the mini mobile home window.

Next I hit up Primark by Marble Arch.  It’s become a bit of a UK destination for me with it’s ultra affordable pricing and trendy merchandise.  Even when the pound was stronger three years ago, it was still pretty amazing  Although I didn’t love the merch this time around, I still managed to pick up a Lace Cardi, Sequin Beret and 2 pairs of tights for about $18.

I previously thought that Indian food in the UK was not to my taste buds as it is richer and more buttery than the Canadian/US equivalent.  My mind was changed when I had Imli in Soho for lunch to recharge my batteries before trekking out to Sir John Soane’s.

Sir John Soane’s is an absolutely amazing house that every possible crevice covered in priceless treasures from the ancient world that’s been turned into a museum.  Definitely worth checking out if you are in London.  The surrounding area is quite beautiful and it’s only just around the corner from The Old Curiousity Shop.

Next stop the British Museum, a truly astonishing place that took me to ancient Greek and Egyptian times.  Proof of the British Empire’s past worldwide domination.  What felt like entire temples and tombs were inside this vast building.  Honestly my knowledge of history is not the greatest but the museum brought to mind a dorky confession - my recent readings of some of Rick Riordan’s series The Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson & the Olympians.  I saw the Rosetta Stone and The Portland vase amongst countless other artifacts.  One learning I had was that body jewelry is a lot older than I had previously thought.

For dinner, I decide to eat in tonight and I attempt my first try at making the Korean dish Jap Chae while my friend JC makes seafood scallion pancake and salmon in oyster sauce with garlic.  We also tried something that is unusual and attempt tea, smoked eggs.  This was delicious, but I’ll never try it again as it filled the kitchen with smoke and my eyes with tears