Cheers!

Since arriving in London, it has become abundantly clear that the term "cheers" is not just said when clinking drink glasses for luck. I have heard cheers as a greeting, in terms of saying thanks and even in saying goodbye to someone. At first I thought that it was only certain people who used cheers in other ways, but the other day I was shopping at Urban Outfitters and after I made my purchase and signed my receipt, the cashier said cheers. I must have looked up questioningly because then the cashier laughed and said "thank you." I can only imagine what he was thinking, he probably thought I couldn't even speak English. Since that happened, I have noticed cheers used in different contexts. I held the door for someone at Harrod's and they responded with cheers. Now that I know that it can be used in so many different ways, there's no stopping me from using the term more often. Cheers definitely has a happier ring to it than thanks.

Cheers, mate!

Michaela and I at Bluebird.

This past weekend one of my very best friends from high school came to visit me. I was so excited for Michaela's arrival that I made a reservation for us to have lunch at Chelsea's infamous Bluebird Cafe (a frequented location by the Made in Chelsea crew). To my surprise, Bluebird not only has a restaurant but also a cafe, a boutique, a spa and a food shop! Bluebird is situated on Kings Rd. not too far from my flat. It was a beautiful day that we went and some of London's most chic were dining and shopping at the establishment. I had to refrain from buying absolutely everything at the boutique; they had a whole table displaying the September issues of Vogue UK, LOVE Magazine and many more!

Michaela had studied here in London from January to May and so she had a few places of her own that she wanted to show me. The first place was Hersheson's, a blow dry bar. I am always one to divulge in beauty treatments, but when she told me that she would get her hair blown out once a week while she was here, I was eager to see what all the fuss was about. We went to the Hersheson's located in the Oxford Street Topshop where I have had that horror of getting lost in a few times...that place is huge! Hersheson's is located on the bottom floor and they specialize in a thirty minute blow out; there are photos on the wall showing the options of hairstyling they offer. I chose to get the "wavy gravy," it is their take on beachy waves. They don't lie when they say it takes only a half hour, when I was finished I was quite impressed with my hair and now I just may have to go back and have my hair done again. (I apologized to Michaela for judging her habit of going weekly after I saw how amazing it was!)

Hershesons hair salon in Topshop in Oxford Circus.

I just had to take a bathroom selfie of my freshly blown out locks. Here is the "wavy gravy" style!

Camden Market

On Saturday, we walked around a lot and I saw much more of London than I even realized was here. We went to Sloane Square to shop and it was like a whole new world had been revealed to me. Stores like Brandy Melville and Anthropologie call this area home. Because it was such a beautiful day, there were many restaurants with outdoor seating and even a market was going on in an open space. After walking around and once again refraining from buying anything, we were famished. We chose to go to a restaurant called Bumpkin which prides itself on serving traditional British dishes. The restaurant was quaint and homey; we even discussed the decor in terms of we wouldn't mind decorating our future homes that way.

"Philly Boyz"

On Sunday, we started our day early and went for breakfast near my flat. Afterwards, we ventured off to Camden Market. Many of my flat mates have already explored the market in Camden, but this was my first time. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to encounter. There were two large markets, one was mostly clothes and souvenirs and the other had food and many other unique stands. The one market is a converted horse stable! There is even a club in that market and although it wasn't open for business on a Sunday, it was still open to go into and impressively enough, there were still horse stalls only now they have been converted into areas with tables in them for clubgoers to sit in. One part of the market that had all of the food stands sold Philly cheese steaks and claimed to be "Philly Boyz," Michaela told me to ask them if they were actually from there and upon closer examination I saw that one guy was wearing a Yankee hat, not further inquiry was necessary because if they actually were from Philadelphia, there is no way that he would be sporting a Yankee hat!

Overall, I had a very successful weekend and if it made me realize anything, it is that I do miss home. I will be home three weeks from today and even though I know I am going to be sad leaving this beautiful place, I have learned so much here that I will be able to take those memories home with me and always think about my time here very fondly. I plan to take full advantage of my time left here. On Thursday I will be going to Paris, so my next blog post will be covering my Parisian adventures!