Monday, June 10th:
Another day of Fashion Styling starting off the week! Since it is week 4 of classes, our teacher gave us a midterm evaluation on our portfolios. It was interesting to hear my teacher's opinion on my strengths and weaknesses thus far. After receiving feedback from him, I am excited and even more motivated to strengthen my portfolio. I want it to be the best it can be: including detail, structure, variety and creativity. I hope to add more to it each week of class in order to create a final product I will be proud of in the end. This is the first time I have created a portfolio involving so much depth, time and length to it. It will be interesting to see it all come together and create a tangible piece that is filled with my personal style and work.
The second part of class we prepped for our Future of Fashion shoot that we will be shooting in the studio tomorrow. I chose to do a Fluorescent theme including two different looks based around the colors orange and pink. It will be interesting to see it all come together tomorrow in the studio. Shooting photos and putting together different styling looks are the two components I am most passionate about in this class. It is so exciting to see your hard work come together and to look at the final product once the look is styled, shot and edited.
On a side note, I am so excited to see my family tomorrow! They are departing tonight, and will land tomorrow morning here in London. It is definitely going to be a fun and busy week. The rest of the night I spent doing work for the week, so I wouldn't have to worry about doing much while my family is in town.
Portfolio Work
My favorite lunch spot on Baker Street: Simple Health Kitchen (break in-between class sessions) - so good and affordable!
Tuesday, June 11th:
Today we got to shoot our two looks for our Future of Fashion Project. It was so much fun! My two looks were based off of the colors orange and pink. We placed colored gels over the lights in order to reflect different colors and create different shades of light. It was intriguing to see how much goes into one single photo and how different shades of lighting can make the mood of a specific image so different. I am definitely happy with how my looks turned out, and I am excited to add them to my portfolio.
After class, I met my parents on Baker Street; they finally arrived! It was so great seeing them, and I am excited to spend the week with my family. I showed them around campus, and then we all ate dinner together. They were all extremely tired from the flight, so they went back to their hotel after dinner, and I went back to my dorm. Tomorrow after class officially starts my vacation for them, and I cannot wait to experience London with them as well as travel to Paris.
Wednesday, June 12th:
Today was filled with another Fashion PR class, and we worked all day on our final project - our brand collaboration launch. It is a lot of work, but planning an entire event is actually really fun, and I have been learning a lot about budgets, the timeline process it takes to plan an event, what types of promotion you should use and all the small details that make up the entirety of the event.
After class, I took the tube to my parent's hotel and my vacation officially started. It was great seeing them again, and their hotel was so pretty! We all met downstairs for wine in the lobby that the hotel provides from 5:30 - 6:30 pm, and then we were off to dinner. We went to this extremely cool area in East London called Boxpark. This concept started from a pop up shop and it expanded to over twenty pop up shop restaurants all connected making a large connected box filled with different types of food and desserts. This was great, because everyone was able to try different food and it was outside with music.
Once dinner was over we went to a bar that I have been wanting to try ever since I got to London - The Alchemist Bar. This bar has a unique concept where the whole menu is comprised of letters from the periodic table. Each drink either smokes when being poured, lights up or does some sort of cool trick. I got the "Color Changing One", and I had to pour two different liquids into my cup, which caused the whole drink to smoke and change colors. It was so good! Overall, the bar had a great ambiance, and I would definitely recommend this for incoming travelers. The menu was not extremely pricey either. My drink ended up being 8.5 pounds, which is actually cheap compared to some of the other bars I have visited.
We ended the night pretty late, and were ready to start off our day tomorrow morning with a full day of London explorations.
Outside of BoxPark
East London Street Art
The Alchemist Bar
Thursday, July 13th:
We started the day off pretty early with Borough Market. It was fun to go to this area again, because this is one of my favorite places in London. We tried tons of different foods - pasta, cookies, sauces, etc! This was really cool, because I got to show my family some of my favorite spots and unique finds that I have been able to discover being in London for almost four weeks. They definitely enjoyed this!
Our next stop of the day was Camden Market. Even though I have been to this market before, I have never seen it so early on in the day, and I am sure glad we went! This is definitely one of my new favorite spots. There were tons of food stands and shops I never got to see. We went to the Cereal Killer Café first, which is a concept centered around cereal. You can pick any type of cereal you could imagine and pair it with ice cream, different types of milk, candy and toppings. I did a "create your own", and it was so good! The aesthetics of the shop is extremely eye-catching and they even used real beds as chairs in the restaurant to create a "breakfast in bed" feel.
I also found a remarkable vintage shop - definitely the best one I have been to so far! They had an abundance of clothing, shoes, hats and different name brand accessories. I got a vintage Champion sweatshirt and a Patagonia jacket. These were such great finds, and I am glad I was able to find them. If you want to find this shop, it is located directly right of the Cereal Killer Café.
After Camden, we went to Carnaby/Regent Street where we shopped some more and I was able to show my family some of my favorite London stores. We went to the famous department store Liberty, Zara, Wak to Wak (street food place), Brandy Melville, and Doc Martens to name a few.
Our day did not stop there! We went to a place I have been dying to go to this whole trip - Sketch. Sketch is a high-end afternoon tea restaurant that has the absolute craziest design concepts and furniture. I was introduced to this place on social media, and ever since then I knew I wanted to check it out. The bathrooms consist of egg shaped pods and the ceiling is covered with a beautiful rainbow window mosaic. This place is definitely pricey and worth getting a reservation, but I would say it is highly worth it if you want somewhere to go to for afternoon tea!
We took the tube station back home as we walked through Oxford Street - another famous shopping area in London. We chilled out for a little bit, and ended up eating at a really nice restaurant in our hotel. The food was great, and it was nice to catch up with everyone and stay inside (out of the nasty weather).
To end up the night, the girls and our dads walked to my FAVORITE frozen yogurt place in London - Snog. I introduced the girls to this place, and now they are hooked just as much as me! We ate on the food truck and enjoyed the nice view of the river. It has been great to spend quality time with my family, and there is truly never a dull moment!
Borough Market
Cereal Killer Café
Patagonia Jacket Find
Sketch
Snog Frozen Yogurt Truck
Friday, June 14th:
Today is the day we travel to Paris, France! We left the hotel early morning and headed to the train station. The train took about 2 and half hours (not bad at all) and the ride was really pleasant. I recommend taking Eurostar as your form of transportation if you plan on traveling around Europe. Paris is actually one hour ahead, so we got there around 1 pm.
As soon as we arrived, we went to the hotel to check in and put our bags down; let's just say we were pleasantly surprised! We had an AMAZING one of a kind balcony view of the Eiffel Tower. It was honestly breathtaking, and I cannot even put into words how surreal this was. It was one of those moments where you say to yourself "life is good". I enjoy experiencing new places, and what better way to do so then with your family surrounded by the people you love.
The first place we went to once we got settled was a famous area centered around the Arc De Triumph, a famous arch in Paris. I must say, it is so much harder to navigate around Paris compared to London! The language barrier adds a new level of difficulty, especially when the underground transportation system is all in French. Once we arrived, it ended up being gorgeous. The weather in Paris is a lot better - 70 degrees and sunny! A nice change from the rainy week we've had so far in London. This area was really cool! It had tons of high-end shopping such as Chanel, Dior, and Louis Vuitton. We stopped on a side street and went to an amazing café. This was the first time I have experienced French bread and cheese, and oh man it was the best. It was great being able to eat outside, watch the people pass by and enjoy each other's company and just joke around... living in the moment.
After Arc De Triumphe, we went to another area just a couple metro stops away - Basilica Du Sacre-Coeur De Montmartre. This is a historic area that is comprised of local shopping, street musicians, and stairs to the most beautiful view in Paris. After a long climb to the top of the hill, we looked out amongst the city of Paris. There is honestly nothing better! I highly recommend this if you visit the area.
The night ended with wine on the balcony, bringing dinner in and hanging out all night. The night life of Paris is insane, and we loved being able to view the Eiffel Tower all lit up right in front of our eyes.
Outfit Details: (Top - Forever 21, Dress - Forever 21, Belt - Local Boutique)
Entering Paris
Balcony View
Arc De Triomphe
Basilica Du Sacre-Coeur De Montmartre
Saturday, June 15th:
This was definitely our busiest day we had planned in Paris. We started off the day with a river tour that lasted the majority of the day. This tour was a boat tour on the river in Paris that stopped at all the major monuments. We went to SO many different places! To name a few: Notré Dame (famous church), Musée d'Orsay (Impressionism Museum), the Louvre and other really neat streets filled with endless café's, shops and people.
The river tour is 100% WORTH IT! We were able to see so much within the span of a morning/afternoon for not a lot of money. You are able to hop on and off whenever you want, so you can pick which stops you would like to get off and which stops you want to stay on. Riding on the boat down the river in itself is surreal. Some of my favorite smaller parts of this tour was finding vintage Vogue posters and trying a crepé! There are crepé stands everywhere throughout the streets, so we finally tried one and it was amazing! Definitely worth it if you ever get the chance to try one in Paris. I also enjoyed one of our stops that was centered around a Jewish area. It was extremely cultural, and had tons of character. We stopped at a café shortly after to people watch and enjoy some drinks. Paris is amazing!
The river tour ended around 6ish pm, so we went back to the hotel and hung out for a bit and relaxed. We brought food in again and hung out on the balcony just enjoying the view. We had another tour planned for the night time, and that was just as good!
We did a night tour starting at sunset (around 10 pm) where we got to sit on top of an open air bus and listen to the history of London. It was so pretty to see Paris at night and all the monuments lit up, as well as observe at the night life that fill the city streets.
Musée Du Louvre
Passing along the river
Notre Dame
Nighttime Bus Tour
Sunday, June 16th:
Sadly, today was the last day of our trip to Paris! I was scheduled to take a train back to London that departed around 6 pm, but I had to get to the train station around 4 pm, so this day definitely went by quickly. My parents fly out of Paris back to the states Monday afternoon.
We spent our last morning in Paris doing a Street Art Tour, which was so cool! I learned so much about different types of art, and observed things in Paris that I never would of noticed if it wasn't for this tour. After the tour we went to a really cool area located near the famous Love wall, and enjoyed some food, walked around a flea market and hung out for our last few hours together.
This trip seriously FLEW by. It was so sad saying goodbye to my family, but it helps knowing that I will see them in two weeks (and my other second family in July). Also, it was great to be able to spend part of Father's Day with my dad!
Mom & Dad, if you are reading this ... know that I am so grateful for you to come out and see me this week! I am so blessed to have you two as parents, and I love you both with all my heart! It was so cool to be able to show you all campus, some of my favorite places in London and discover a whole new area with you both. You two are truly amazing people. Thank you for all you do! You both set a great example of what I can only hope to have down the line! Have a safe flight and see you soon. Happy 25th Anniversary!
Dad, Happy Father's Day! You mean so much to me! You are the craziest, funniest, hardworking guy I know. Thank you for raising me into the woman I am today! You're my best friend and dad all in one. I love the relationship we have, and that we never fail to mess around no matter where we are (lol). I love you!
... Another week in the books! This trip is passing by before my eyes. Two more weeks left, and I hope to fill them with many more memories.
Street Art Tour