25 August, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Monday is a bank holiday in the UK, the end-of-summer equivalent to Labor Day. Given that I am a student, bank holidays don’t mean much to me, but having three-day holiday weekends make a lot of people around here happy and it’s nice to be surrounded by happy people. I think this is the last holiday here until Christmas. That’s insane.
So far this weekend, I’ve done a lot of eating and have spent a lot of money. On Friday night, I went with a couple friends to Mestizo, a Mexican restaurant near that scary intersection where Euston Road and Tottenham Court Road meet. A strange place for a restaurant like this. Mestizo is classy and very authentic. Highly recommended. I shared a mojito with a friend. I’m not much of a drinker, but I love mojitos. And since they include rum, I began to speak like a pirate. Unfortunately, my pirate accent sounds exactly like a Scottish accent.
On Saturday, I went with a friend to the Laduree in Burlington Arcade. I paid £7.50 for a bottle of mineral water and four mini macarons. Sigh. Of course the macarons were lovely. This time I tried a mint one. It was out of this world. In Burlington Arcade, we also looked around Penhaligons. Oh my lovely! I had never heard of this place. Right now I can’t really afford £35 for bath oil, but a girl can dream.
[You may notice I am not converting the currency into dollars. This is because the pound is falling against the dollar. At last! It used to be $2 to £1. Now it's about $1.85 to £1. I cannot do this math quickly in my head, hence the lack of conversion. This new rate makes a huge difference for little ol' me. I know it's not good for you Brits, but I've been getting screwed every which way for three years on the exchange rate and now I get my revenge! Ha! This will save me thousands of dollars in tuition this year.]
Also on Saturday, we went to Selfridges. Much to my relief, I discovered the rumors that Clinique had discontinued selling their Black Honey lipstick were totally false. What a relief. This is my signature lipstick. I’ve worn it for years and years. I recently ran out and I was having a hard time contemplating life without this product. I’m not saying I was suicidal or anything, but it was pretty bad. [The Clinique website makes this lipstick look pinkish, but it's not. It's dark brownish. I usually only wear very dark brown-hued lipstick.] The Clinique beauty robot at Selfridges told me that this is the most popular lipstick Clinique makes and it will never be discontinued. Thank God. I would rather have this lipstick than peace in the Middle East.
We also looked around the food halls at Selfridges. Not as good as Harrod’s, but pretty darn good. They have a section of American delicacies like instant grits. I really wanted to buy those, but they were too expensive. I settled for a mini-container of Lucky Charms, which cost £1.99. I ate it this morning with soy milk and it was worth every single cent. Ahhh, the cereal of the gods.
On the way home, we ate Thai food. It was quite a piglicious day. [At Selfridges, we had managed to finagle some free Charbonnel et Walker truffles too.] Continuing on the food theme, since the students are gone, we have access to a real kitchen to cook in. Tonight me and another co-worker made vegetarian sausages and sweet potato wedges for dinner, plus rice pudding (made with soy milk) for dessert. I realize this menu makes most people want to barf, but it was delicious for me. We watched American Dreamer, one of the great romantic comedies from the eighties.
Anyway, that has been my weekend so far. It’s been nice to socialize a bit more, since I’ve been feeling isolated. The dorm is closed and a few of the people I really like in London are traveling abroad. [Unfortunately, the people I know in London who are a**holes are still around.] I feel a bit out of sorts right now, so I’ve needed a distraction. On Tuesday I leave for a short holiday, so you may not hear from me until next weekend. I just need to get away from my surroundings for a few days and recharge. Anglofille is off to foreign climes…
Anglofille said @ 1:12 am | london & uk, personal |
- Comments RSS | TrackBack URI
-
Daniela Says:
August 25th, 2008 at 12:51 pmI am glad you have lifted your spirits a bit this weekend. And I hope you come back completely recharged, I have noticed you normally do. Where are you going to? I wish I could leave London for awhile…
Enjoy your break! -
Thanks! I do get recharged on my trips, you’re right. What I need to learn, however, is how to keep that positive energy going once I return home. That’s the tough part. I am going to my usual place…PARIS! I miss Paris right now quite a lot.
-
It sure sound like you had a nice weekend!
Can I go to Paris with you?
-
Sure, come on!
