As I left the Crabtree Christmas party last night, my coworker told me that since there would likely be no one in the office tomorrow, I would not have to come in today - so Lauren and I are both officially done with our internships! I was sad to say goodbye to everyone; although it's been tiring at times it really was an amazing experience - it is unreal how quickly the past nine weeks have flown by!
Since we both had Friday open, we opted to sleep in a bit this morning before going off on our individual activities for the day. Lauren opted to catch an 11:15 showing of the latest Harry Potter film at the IMAX theatre...since it was dubbed the scariest of the series so far, I decided to pass and let her enjoy it without me on her lap the entire time :) Instead, I headed out around 11 to cross some things off my to do list. My first stop was kind of embarrassing as it was not even noon yet, but I had been itching to go since we arrived. Hummingbird Bakery is one of London's best known bakery, and known to be a favorite of Gwenyth Paltrow. I decided now was as good a time as ever, so I sheepishly went in and ordered a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. Without a doubt the best cupcake I have had here to far; may not live up to Crumbs, but comes mighty close!
After my makeshift breakfast, I headed towards St. James's Park, one of the city's royal parks. Sitting opposite Buckingham Palace, the small park boasts picturesque scenery and a stellar location. On my way, I walked by the entrance to Buckingham, where the changing of the guards was occurring. Much less crowded than our visit in September, I was able to get right up to the gate and get a quick picture before crossing the street into the park. Since it was absolutely freezing out (breaking news: the government had an 'emergency meeting' to discuss how to deal with the weather crisis...pah-lease) there were not many people around, which made it all the more enchanting. With snow on the ground and ice on the lake, it looked like a winter wonderland! I strolled the length of the park to reach Trafalgar Square, where they put up one of London's best Christmas trees. I was anxious to finally see it, but honestly I was underwhelmed; compared to the beautifully lit Rockefeller tree, this one seemed bare and extremely small. Granted, it was in the middle of a gigantic square, but it still looked a little puny even for the circumstances...oh well, I was glad to see it! My next stop was yet another park, this time known as Regent. Home to the Gardens of Queen Mary, it is a favorite of visitors, and I can now see why: it was absolutely gorgeous, especially with the snow! I spent an hour roaming around a pretty much deserted landscape save the few dog walkers, it was so peaceful. I eventually found myself at the London Zoo, and since this was also on my list of things I wanted to do, I thought why not! To my surprise, all the exhibits were still open so I got to see everything! As you would guess, the Zoo in the dead of winter isn't that crowded, so I got to see everything up close and personal. My favorites were the camels, monkeys, and the butterfly garden (it was really humid inside, so my feet could thaw!). Overall it was really fun; not exactly San Diego, but a really cool experience to be able to see the animals with pretty much no one around!
With my trusty tube map in hand, I was able to navigate my way to Camden Market, only a ten minute walk from the Zoo. This was the last of the big three markets I had yet to visit, and although Lauren told me it wasn't really "my scene," I thought since I was so close I might as well check it out. Turns out she was pretty correct in hr assumption; it's a little grungy, but I managed to find some cute stalls and even purchased some pretty paisley scarves! After walking around a bit more, I hopped on the tube at the Camden Town station and made my way on the Northern line to Borough, home to yet another market. Lauren's movie was close to Borough, so we decided we would meet there for lunch! We had been a few months ago for the first time, but wanted to return as we had spotted way too many good looking things so only go once. After meeting up, we decided on Raclette cheese sandwiches for lunch...YUM. So delicious and perfect on a cold day. We continued to wander, oohing and ahhing at all the amazing treats. I picked up some hot apple cider before Lauren and I found a bakery that our roommate, Christine, claimed had "the best brownies in the world." Naturally, we had to put this statement to the test. Lauren chose a fudge brownie with caramel while I picked the Christmas brownie, with Christmas cookies and hazelnuts inside. We can now confirm that this statement is correct. With full stomachs and numb bodies, we headed back on the tube to Courtfield where we spent the next three hours thawing...we're still in the process actually.
As dinnertime rolled around, we decided to order in wagamama as we couldn't bear to go outside again. We had a nice relaxing dinner with Lauren, Ashley and Allie. Tonight we are going to Fabric, one of London's most infamous clubs. We've been talking about it since before we arrived in London, so we're excited to finally be going! Can't be out too late though, as tomorrow we have a train to catch!
xo Carolyn
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