Let's Go F.N.O!

Wednesday was our second core class; it’s hard to believe our first and only session was last Thursday! Carolyn’s was at 9AM once again, but mine didn’t meet until 1:15, so I took the morning to head to Kensington High Street and stock up at Whole Foods. The place was basically empty, which allowed me to examine all the aisles and leisurely shop for some favorites; as always, Whole Foods didn’t disappoint. The most entertaining part of my morning was on the walk back, when I spotted two good-looking young men, dressed in suits, walking up the street towards me. As we got closer, I made eye-contact with one as he walked over saying “excuse me” in an American accent, none-the-less! Of course I was excited to hear what he had to say… but once he began talking again, I knew my dreams were crushed: “Today we’re talking about God and his mission for all of us…” A quick glance down at his lapel revealed his identity: Andrew from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Oy vey. Before he got the chance to tell me of this “mission,” I told him no thank you with a smile and continued walking. “Thank you for your time, have a great day!” trailed behind me. Suddenly I felt like I was back home in New York City (minus the courteous reply). This certainly was the most unexpected part of my day, but the highlight was when I returned to our flat: Skyping with Brock and Collin! It hadn’t even been two weeks since I’d seen them last, but it felt like two months! Both looked more adorable than ever, Brock smiled at me but I’m pretty sure he was just eyeing the keyboard. In any event, their faces would make anyone’s day 100x better, as it certainly did mine.
After I got out of class at 5, we had dinner with the flat-girls (a new term I’ve coined), then headed out for a night on the town: Fashion Night Out that is.

  Similar to the event in NYC (both hosted by Vogue), all the high-end designer stores stay open until late, wining and dining customers and offering special events. Our first stop was Alexander McQueen, where we bought our first (and only… don’t worry parents) purchase of the night: FNO t-shirts, all profits going to charity. To be completely honest, we were equally excited about the Alexander McQueen shopping bag we got with purchase as we were about the t-shirt. Chanel gave out peach bellinis, free manicures (although the line was massive), and a photo-booth, while Prada had free Pimms and white-chocolate covered raspberry sorbet lollipops (out of this world). Most were entirely open to the public, while a few were more exclusive, like DKNY which had a strict guest list, and Stella McCartney, which was being hosted by Gwyneth Paltrow. The free blood-orange and vodka sorbet samples handed out to the mob of people outside of the store, however, were very much appreciated.

The streets were filled with people, some who deserved the high-fashion title, others who clearly did not. We also spotted some (who are we kidding… TONS) of gorgeous guys in suits (a big plus for us) who were equally as easy on the eyes as the designer merchandise. We walked around for about three hours, gazing longingly at Hermès handbags and Prada pumps (and a fro-yo stop on the way out), before calling it a night.
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Thursday was the last day of class for the week (hooray). Carolyn had her first field trip to the Brand Museum and did some research with her marketing group at the City Business Library before heading back to meet me at Courtfield. After 16 hours of class, it was finally time for some relaxation. We spent the afternoon lounging and uploading our recent pictures, before having a casual (and I mean casual) dinner in our flat kitchen. Of course, our first weekend activity involved food: a group of eight of us headed down to Cromwell Place to satisfy our sweet tooth’s. Carolyn and our friend Ashley tried a place called Crème de la Crepe, which serves both savory and dessert crepes, while four of our other friends got SNOG (the Pinkberry of the U.K.), and I decided to be unique and go for gelato. All equally satisfying and delicious. Afterwards, Carolyn and I felt the need to move around a bit (we always regret the desserts AFTERward) so we went for a stroll (a brisk walk in our terms) around the neighborhood, finding the hotel my parents will stay at the first night they arrive, and of course, a few restaurants and pubs to add to our must-visit list (it gets longer and longer every day). I made a quick stop at the grocery store to restock on my Greek yogurt, where the check-out guy told me he “remembered my signature” (creepy?), helped a few tourists find their hotel (I was proud of myself), and then called it a night.
Three of our friends are waking up at 3:45AM to go to Geneva for the weekend, and although I’m beyond jealous, at this point the thought of being able to sleep for eight hours or more sounds heavenly. We have to rest up for another jam-packed weekend, of course!
xo LC