I'm Julia Child. Bon appetit!

Well today was my last day of summer! Most people’s classes started today but since I only have Tuesday/Thursday classes, I got to do whatever I wanted today which was nice because yesterday sort of got wasted. I ended up staying up to my normal Texas bedtime (1:30) on Saturday night but apparently I was more tired than I thought. I didn’t wake up until 2:30 yesterday afternoon. Bree and I ended up lounging around the flat and watching movies and crappy British TV. For the record, British game shoes are absolutely hilarious!

Since Bree had two classes today, I decided I’d go with her up to the CAPA center to practice getting there. I spent most of the time enjoying the free wifi and reading the orientation packet they gave us. After her first class, she had a three hour break so we went out to High Street Kensington and got our cell phones. It was 15 pounds for the phone and 15 pounds for unlimited calls and texts to other people with the same plan (which is everyone else in the group). The minutes roll over from month to month so it’s a fairly good deal. We asked the guy who was helping us where to go for lunch and he told us to head over to Notting Hill. After some puzzled looks at the map, we caught a bus and adventured through new territory. It’s a REALLY pretty area, actually. It’s filled with antique stores, book shops, and little vintage shops that line the streets in between some of the cutest flats I’ve seen here. We found a local chain restaurant (EAT.) that sells deli food and coffee and the guy that served us was from Dallas. He actually saw my Dr. Pepper shirt and asked if we were here studying from Baylor. He was really nice and he gave us his business card and said if we wanted any advice on cheap things to do, places to eat, etc, we could stop by and find him. We’re just making friends all over the place!

After Bree’s second class, we dropped our stuff off at the flat and headed down to the street to the King’s Mall, and indoor/outdoor shopping center. We found a bunch of really neat cheap vintage shops, along with my favorite find yet: Poundland! And they had amazing deals going on, too! We got two bags of penne pasta for a pound and (surprisingly enough) THREE CANS OF DR. PEPPER FOR A POUND! Yes, yes I did just type that. There is, in fact, Dr. Pepper in the UK.

Another thing that might surprise you: I fixed dinner tonight! I made spaghetti but unfortunately when I went to the store the first time on Friday, I didn’t think to buy salt, pepper, or butter so the actual dish was pretty plain. But it’s food, and cheap food at that.

I’m actually really excited about classes tomorrow. I’m taking Performing Culture and Theater Arts in London on Tuesdays. I’m a bit worried about my Performing Culture because I don’t quite know what to expect from it but I’m absolutely thrilled about my theater class. The events calendar in the CAPA orientation books says that the Theater class goes to a show every Tuesday night…That’s a lot of shows!! Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get a list of everything that we’re seeing so I can buy tickets to shows that aren’t on the list. I was surprised on the tour on Saturday when the guide mentioned that London has a bigger Theater scene than New York. But driving around and seeing all the different theaters scattered around the city really proved him right. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see all the big shows around before I leave. Not gunna lie, an eighth Wicked playbill would just be awesome!

That’s all for now! Till Next Time!