Monday, June 17th:
Today marks week 5 of my classes, so we are starting to wrap things up! It is crazy how quickly the weeks have gone, and that I only have one more class left after this. In class today we talked about the differences between an advertisement and editorial in the fashion industry. This was an introduction to our photo shoot we had later in the day where we had to pick a brand and shoot an advertisement for them. I chose to do the brand Doc Martens.
The photoshoot ended up being so much fun, and I liked the way it turned out! I inspired my look after a past advertisement Doc Marten launched. I picked four different photos of myself and merged them together in photoshop. Taking pictures in the studio has definitely been one of my favorite parts of the class.
Example of an unedited photo
Outfit Details (Top - Brandy Melville, Bottoms - Vestique, Shoes - Doc Martens, Jacket - Forever 21)
Final Product
Tuesday, June 18th:
Since we did our advertising photoshoot in class yesterday, we do not have class today. We took advantage of the free day and decided to go to multiple museums. The cool thing about London is that most of the museums are open to the public and free. I am extremely into art, so I have been taking advantage of all the different museums! We visited the Tate Britain to see the limited time Van Goh exhibit, and then we went to the Tate Modern museum to walk around the free exhibitions. My favorite type of art is contemporary and modern; therefore, the Tate Modern museum was definitely more up my alley.
It ended up being the perfect day to visit museums, because it was raining the majority of the time we were out! I would highly recommend both museums we went to, and I would always make sure to check what exhibits are going on during the time of your stay. They switch out pretty often!
Tate Britain - Van Goh Exhibit
Tate Modern Museum - Free Exhibits
Wednesday, June 19th:
Last day of classes for the week! We did tons of work in our Fashion PR class today, because our final projects are coming close to being due. We worked on them all day with the help of our teachers guiding us. It is nice to have four different teachers with different backgrounds in the industry, because they all have a wide range of opinions, experiences, knowledge and advice about specific areas of our project. I ended up finishing my project today, because I am going away to Amsterdam for the weekend.
After class, I went to the Imperial War Museum to visit the Holocaust exhibit. This is a free exhibit going on only for a couple of weeks in London, so I wanted to take advantage of it being so close and attend. It was such an eye-opening experience. I honestly cannot even explain the feelings that went through my head and the emotions I felt walking through the exhibit. All I can say is that becoming knowledge about history is so important, especially when it is something you are passionate about. It made me even more proud of who I am, and seeing everything that was included throughout the exhibit taught me a lot to say the least.
A bunch of the people from my summer program are all going to Amsterdam for the weekend. We have had this trip planned for a while now, so we are so excited it is finally here! This weekend is filled with tours, site seeing, and more. I cannot wait to share. :)
Imperial War Museum - Holocaust Exhibit
Thursday, June 20th:
The morning started off super busy, because I had to make sure I got all my schoolwork done before I left for Amsterdam later in the day. First, I shot my final project for my Fashion Styling class in East London. This was our biggest project; we had to style four different looks that resembled ourselves and personality. The name of the project is "Style Tribe", and I chose my theme as athleisure. Finding bathrooms to change in was harder than expected, so it definitely took us all morning into early afternoon!
We left for the train station around 1 pm in order to catch a train to the airport. The train ride was about 40 minutes, and the flight was a little over an hour. Between the tube, train, flight delay and cab ride to our hostel, we ended up getting settled around 10:30 pm.
Our hostel we stayed in was amazing! It was filled with pretty much all college students, and the interior design was so unique. There were games, a bar, a dining area, patio and a DJ. We knew we would get in late, so we stayed in for the night hanging out in the common area and then got ready for our busy day we planned for tomorrow.
Some of my favorite photos from my final project shoot
Outfit #1 Details (Tank Top - Forever 21, Leggings - Lulu Lemon, Jacket - Forever 21, Shoes - Adidas, Hat - Nike)
Outfit #2 Details (Shirt - Francescas, Jacket - Forever 21, Pants - Lulu Lemon, Shoes - Adidas)
Hostel Interior
Friday, June 21st:
We started the day off early with breakfast at our hostel. We had to be on our phones by 9 am in order to try to get tickets to attend the Anne Frank museum. Tickets are pretty hard to get, and we found out they release them every morning on their website at 9 am. When we were waiting, it said we had over 700 people in front of us. We ended up making our way (people dropped out of line, etc.) and we all got tickets! Our time slot was 3:45 pm, so we scheduled the rest of our day around the museum.
We ended up being about a 45 minute walk from the main city, so we walked all around after breakfast and explored the city around us. Our first detour was a cute flea market filled with tons of vintage clothing, jewelry and artwork. Amsterdam is known for their vintage shops!
After exploring the city, my opinion of Amsterdam drastically changed. This ended up being one of my favorite places so far throughout my stay! It is gorgeous here. There are over 15,000 rivers and they are truly indescribable. The people were friendly, the weather was perfect, and the food was amazing. It is also a bike city (they have more bikes than people) so everyone just rides their bikes out and about and seems to have no worry in the world. It was so relaxing to walk around and take it all in. We walked around the nine different streets that are famous in Amsterdam for shopping, food and bars.
After some shopping and eating, it was time to go to the Anne Frank museum. At first, I was a tad nervous, because I did not know how it was going to make me feel or what emotions it was going to bring up. The workers even recommended to do something light-hearted after visiting the museum. The exhibit was surreal. It is hard to describe what it was like walking up the stairs, entering the hiding spot and seeing the pencil marks on the wall representing Anne and her sister Margo's growing height throughout the time they were in hiding. It was so personal. They did an excellent job telling her story. The only survivor of the family was Anne's father, Otto, and he did not want the house to be repurposed with replica furniture that once filled the hiding spot. I believe he did this, because he wanted people to see that everything he had was stripped away from him. Even though the rooms were empty of furniture, they still had items on the wall that were from the time Anne stayed there and pictures of what the rooms looked like filled with the furniture that once stood throughout the rooms.
It makes me realize how thankful I am to live the life I do, and that I have all the freedom I could ever ask for. I highly recommend reading about Anne Frank if you do not know her story; it was empowering to listen to and extremely knowledgeable. It also made me proud to be the person who I am.
After the museum, we all ate dinner and explored some more. The night life is insane in Amsterdam! We headed back to the hostel later that night, and all hung out together in the common area because there was tons going on. They even have a club in the bottom of our hostel!
Outfit Details (Top - Brandy Melville, Skirt - Top Shop, Jacket - Vintage store on Marylebone Street in London)
Hostel Café
Flea Market
Anne Frank Museum - Original Bookcase used to disguise the door leading to the hiding place
Waffle - Famous dessert in Amsterdam
Saturday, June 22nd:
We slept in a little later this morning, because we knew we'd be out late tonight. Our morning started off with exploring some more streets and walking wherever an interesting path took us. We had a boat tour scheduled across the canals at 2pm, so we walked around that area and we stayed busy with more shopping, food and the scenery that filled the city.
The boat tour was amazing! The weather was beautiful (around 70-75 degrees), and we sailed across the different canals for an hour. Our tour guide told us so many interesting facts about the history of the city and the buildings/boats we passed throughout the ride. The boat had various drinks, and was definitely worth the money (only 15 euros)!
We learned why the houses lean forward, how many bikes fill the city, how many bridges there are and why they call marijuana dispensaries "coffee shops". Weed and prostitution are both legal in Amsterdam, so it was interesting to learn about some history behind the two. It is a huge difference from the states. The highlight for me on the boat trip was seeing all the different boat houses that filled the canals. They are houses that live on the water and have a starting cost at about one-million euros. They are all so beautiful. All the buildings and boats are considered national monuments; therefore, they can not be altered in any shape or form. This means the sites we saw today were the same as they were years and years ago. It was really cool!
After the boat ride, we walked around some more and ate dinner back at the hostel. We then prepped to get ready for the night - we ended up going to the Red Light District.
The Red Light District is famous for their night life and other interesting things as well... We went to a museum and walked the streets. It is something that I have never experienced before - that is for sure! We got back around 1 am, and only were able to get a couple hours of sleep, because we had to get up at 3:30 am to leave for the airport.
Boat & Canal Tour
"Dancing Houses"
Sunday, June 23rd:
We left the hostel extremely early, and took a cab to the airport. Between all forms of transportation, we ended up getting back to London around 9:30 am (10:30 am Amsterdam time). Therefore, it was about 7 hours total of travel. I was exhausted after all the traveling, so I took the day to workout, do laundry and basically relax the rest of the night.
Another week in the books, it is crazy that I am leaving London in six days! I want to enjoy my last week in the best way possible. I will definitely miss being abroad, but I am also ready to get back home to the states!