Kew Gardens

Hi Family!

So this Saturday is my last day solo before my mom comes into town and guess what? The sun finally came out over here! Today was literally 95 degrees all day long and I don't think I could have been more excited for blistering weather. Seriously, a month of rain and cold weather was more than enough for this Socal girl. I decided to celebrate my freedom by taking a trip to Kew Gardens, and was definitely not disappointed. I started with a gentle 3 mile walk to Waterloo and then caught the train to Richmond. Am I starting to sound like a local now? But in all honesty, thank god for google maps. 

I was determined to spend my day out in the sun, but may or may not have gotten too much sun. I found this observatory and was like "retreeeeaaaattttt." Except I went inside, and you would not believe it, it was a tropical observatory -.- Which meant it was hotter on the inside than it was on the outside. Oops. Needless to say I did a lap and then hightailed it out of there for some shade. 

Look at the inside! It's just so gorgeous, I forgot how clean the air can be and how fresh (even if it was humid in the glass house). My lungs were so happy, looks like London has been smoggier than I realized.

Anyone know what this vine is? There was no sign but I absolutely love these purple flowers! I kinda want to grow them on a trellis on the balcony of my new apartment.

This is a very English landscaping set up...or so all the signs told me. But I have seen that it's popular to put beds of flowers in various shapes on the grass. I kind of like it. Also it's so nice to see grass that isn't brown and dying! (Can you tell I'm from the desert?) I wonder what their water bill is like in these gardens, and if it's way less because of all the rain?

These flowers were so cute! I felt silly taking so many pictures. But honestly, around this point I was at 7 miles so I need to sit on a bench and take a little break. I'm not sure what possessed me to walk half the way to Kew Gardens when I'd only be doing more walking here, but too late to take it back now! I was determined to make the most of my student discounted 9 pound ticket.

Would I even be a Cali girl if I didn't stop and take a picture at the mini redwood forest? These trees took me back to a year ago, when I road tripped to Oregon with my cousins and best friend Kelly! Funny how I can be taken back to SF when I'm in the middle of England. But dang am I lucky to have seen so much of the world. It's funny, no matter how far I travel, I always seem to find bits and pieces of home. 

And with that, I rounded out my trip to an even 10 miles. Apparently I was gunning to break the personal record Tanja and I set without knowing it. My feet might have been super sore, and I may or may not have gotten a bit too much sun. But if you can't tell by the smile on my face, I was one happy happy girl.

Mom comes in tomorrow, so I need to tidy the whole place up and pretend like I've been living in the peak of cleanliness this whole time and hide the fact that the 8 dishes I used never left their drying racks hahaha. So excited for all the toursity stuff again. I'll take pictures of different things so it won't feel repetitive...I hope.

Love you all!

Carolyn

And That's A Wrap Folks!

Hi Everybody!

I'm riding the high of just having finished my internship so I thought I'd put all my feelings down on (virtual) paper before I forget them. I cannot believe I'm done! This experience has been so good for me, as I've figured out a few things that will guide my next two years in law school.

First off, I really need to decide if I want to do corporate law or not. This week I spent half the time down in corp and while the team was amazing, I'm wondering if the job is the right fit for me. As my boss put it, "there's not a lot of law in corporate law," and it's so true. It's mostly putting out fires between a bunch of clients that don't want to play nice with each other and throw temper tantrums on the regular. Let's just say in my time down in corporate, a good amount of objects were tossed around with a good amount of swearing whenever a deal went south or a client was being particularly difficult. However, I will admit that the clients were interesting along with the casework. I think it's safe to say transactional work is my forte.

Second, I know that it is totally unrealistic to expect to get off at 5:30 pm when I actually start working in a law firm for real, but it has been so nice to tune out work and actually have a life after clocking out. I feel like I'm never really done with school, and I'm usually working well into midnight and then early the next morning, which in all fairness will prepare me for the awful 24 marathons at the firm. But this week after work I got to go to a sustainability in fashion lecture with Jes, which by the way was so interesting. Did you know you can re-purpose fishing nets into thread to make swimsuits? After the talks, Jes and I got a nice greek dinner and chatted away. (She had to keep her fingers on everything we were going to order so we wouldn't forget)

Obviously between the two of us we simply can't both look good in a picture. So here is a series of attempts at taking a nice photo lol.

Finally, I'm really going to miss all my coworkers, especially Emma (my handler). It's so crazy how you can make a little home for yourself in no time. So when it came time to say goodbye, everyone told me how much they'd miss having me around. I tried to be helpful as much as possible, but a lot of the times there wasn't really work for me to do. So I was genuinely surprised when I was told that I would be missed! I felt like I didn't contribute much, until I realized just generally being available and ready to work, having a good attitude, and being kind goes a long way. Which I probably should have realized sooner, but in the US I feel like I've been praised in my past work experience for working hard and always taking up any task no matter how big or small (ie packing up 300 boxes for the partners' retreat vs critical thinking research). So it was nice to see that just having a good personality can positively impact the work space even as an intern. I mean it's not every day that the doorman says he hopes to see you come back as a qualified attorney!

Hopefully I haven't bored you to death. Mom's coming this Sunday so be prepared for adventures!

Lots of love,

Carolyn

Devil's Dyke

Hi fam!

Legend has it that there were a string of churches in Sussex, so the devil was digging a trench during the night to let the sea run through and flood the churches in the morning. A clergy man heard of the devil's plan and lit a lamp at the bottom of the valley. The devil, thinking that the sun was beginning to rise, fled for fear of being caught, leaving the job incomplete and the churches saved.

Samantha, Jes, and I all decided to road trip up to Devil's Dyke for a good hike and picnic. I mean for the first time in forever the sun was shining and we were determined not to waste a single second. We met up and Samantha drove us in the cutest car ever! Seriously, I want one. A convertible, golf Volkswagen. We were the quintessential example of girl's trip, blasting the music, letting the wind knot our hair (I seriously regretted not braiding my hair that night), and singing and dancing like the crazy loons we are. It was hilarious to have cars drive past and realize that it wasn't a bunch of teenagers, but grown adults partying it up on the countryside roads.

The views took my breath away. I'm a through and through desert girl, so to see this much green had me in absolute awe! I mean look at it!

We started our hike through the tall grass, and maybe about five minutes in I heard some rattling noises coming the my right. Being a good girl scout, I slowly started backing up and looking for an alternative footpath. Well imagine my surprise as Jes and Samantha continued trotting on, not worried or panicked by this snake hiding in the bushes. So I shouted out to them that there were snakes and we needed to leave, only to have them bust out laughing and say, "the only predator you'll find here is a dog running up to you for tummy tickles." Yup, that's right, I went into full panic mode over a BUG. To be fair, in Cali we have rattle snakes, and I've come across quite a few in my hikes, so my instinctual panic was not wrong, just simply irrelevant in the countryside. Oopsies.

Jes told me that  the only predators in England, are foxes, rabbits, cows. Because apparently cows are predators of grass? This is Jes' list, not mine so you can take it up with her the fact that rabbits and cows don't really count. Although, they might have adders in some parts of the country? But not where we were. The worst thing we came across was stinging nettles, which are itchy leaves, but oddly the doc leaf grows right next to them and will take the sting away. Nature is weird, but oddly convenient on this little island.

I passed by cows, HORSES, and lambs (but unfortunately no lambies, apparently it's past their season). If you think the passing farm animals on your hike is weird, don't worry you're not alone. But it's kind of nice not having to worry about bobcats or coyotes. We kept following the footpath but losing it in little towns here and there. It was a good excuse for me to take more pictures though!

We may or may not have gotten horribly lost without adequate cell service, and somehow ended up at the very bottom of the valley. And when I say bottom, I definitely mean the lowest point of the gorge only to realize that our car park was at the tippy top and off to the left. We were already two hours in and literally the only place to go was up. Sooo we took a few breaks and one step at a time made it back to the top. I wish you could see the distance, but the green all melts together so you'll just have to take my word that it was far.

Thank god for Samantha being the older and wiser one because she packed a picnic! Guys back in America, we are missing out. You will not believe the options of cheese they have here! I was so overwhelmed and I literally knew none of the names. Thank goodness I had natives here to show me the way. If you're wondering what we packed in our little basket, it was three loaves of fresh tiger bread (we pretty much finished 2 ½), three types of cheese (camembert, mild cheddar, and some other white one), grapes, chili tomato houmous (that's their spelling here not mine, you know how crazy the Brits are with the letter u, so excessive), and ginger beer (pretty much a spicier version of ginger ale).

We literally sat there for hours just chatting, napping, and eating while taking in the silence that surrounded us. We started our own little dance party (much to the chagrin of others) and played around with juggling and poi (not on fire tho). The circus in me knew kind of how to do poi, at least I'd like to think so, but juggling was absolutely hopeless for me. This is why I stick to aerial arts guys, that totally normally hand-eye coordination you were supposed to be born with simply isn't there for me. Jes had a lot of fun laughing at my expense. Also you know Samantha is a true goodie just by the fact that she brought circus stuff to a picnic…what is that saying about birds of a feather?

After four hours of sitting and chatting, we decided it was time for dinner and to make our way back to the sea. And by dinner I mean the best gelato on the island, because I'm an adult, and adults can eat ice cream for dinner whenever they want. I just know that my 5 year old self is so proud of this 25 year old decision.

If you thought I couldn't top ice cream and sunsets on the beach, just wait until you hear what happened next. Samantha heard of this little bar called Neptune with a live band that supposedly played blues. So we went and got ourselves a seat before the bar became too crowded. If you're thinking that a bar called Neptune would be filled with mostly old people reminiscing about their past over pints of beer, you would be 100% correct. Think dark wood, a rather broody bar tender, everyone literally knowing everyone else, and vintage everything on the walls. I think the patrons were genuinely confused as to why three giggling girls want to hang out here instead of the latest and greatest. That is until the blues music started. You know I simply can't help myself with music, I just need to dance. Well, Samantha actually goes blues and swing dancing. So your girl here spent the night dancing blues with her new friend Samantha and it was So. Much. Fun!!! I miss dancing so much, it just makes me so happy and I automatically am laughing the whole time. Maybe I'll pick it back up when I come home.

The three of us stayed for all the sets the band played and then ambled our way back to the car to pick up the perishables left in the trunk. See Jes? Everyone will know what I mean, no one says "gather the food in the boot" hehehe. And then for some reason we started singing throw back songs from our middle school days. Jes and Samantha started to sing the beginning of one, and I was like no, I don't think I know that song. And then Samantha went "sure you do! It goes namanama namanama" and started jumping around. And jes was like no no then started singing other random words but not the right ones. Me I'm off to the side terrible confused until Jes goes "the song is Jump Around!" So it's midnight, we're on the street alone pretty much, in this super residential neighborhood singing and dancing to this song, scaring anyone who would potentially walk down the street off. If only they knew it was just the three of us being our goofiest selves.

And that my friends, was the end of a perfect day. Don't worry we all made it home in one piece, giggling enough to give me an instant six pack. Can't wait for tomorrow!

Xx,

Carolyn

Disputes

Hi Everyone!

I guess I kind of jinxed it when I said that Tuesday was going to be the highlight of my week because it totally was. On the plus side, I feel like I'm really starting to fit in or that people are actually caring, which is bittersweet because it always happens when you're at the end of trip and just starting to get settled in.

This week I was mostly a floater because my gig with corporate got pushed to next week. Luckily disputes decided that I was useful and put me on a project! Actually, this was the first time I found that my education was remotely useful. Which is pretty alarming considering the amount of money I have put into law school and the fact that it has not really benefited me until now. Basically, they teach law in a litigation way, so I was a newbie until I actually ended up on a litigation project. Actually what was most exciting was when the trainee assigned to me came to explain most of the technical terms, I had already learned them through my previous work here. I could see her surprise as I caught on quickly and kept stopping her when she started mansplaining terms to me. I was like "yes I know what that is!" It was actually really rewarding. Too bad I'm going to come home to America and pretty much have nothing translate over. But honestly, I went dragon boat racing soooo I don't think anyone in my class can really top that in terms of life experience.

My favorite part of the rest of this week was actually when I met with a lady named Krystal. My Uncle back home had set the meeting up, and it was funny because I had no clue who she was so it was kind of like a blind date but more of a blind meeting. Also, nowadays trying to google someone is useless because their pictures are always a million years old, so they look nothing like their former selves and an old picture might even confuse you more (I'm looking at you mom and dad, those company head-shots are pre-Carolyn aka get new ones). 

Krystal is this real estate investor who has traveled the world and lived everywhere and has now moved to London for her job. Chatting with her was absolutely fabulous, not only was she energetic and excited, you could see that she loved being abroad and exploring new places just as much as I do. She's lived in Asia and now Europe, and it seems as though uprooting her life for 5-8 years at a time doesn't mean she can't have one. She still has her close US friendships, and ones she carried through her other homes, she still is close to her family, and she even has her own family. I think as someone who keeps being told by school and others that what I want can't simply be done, it is so refreshing to see that actually it can, it's just not common.

Here's to forging forward fearlessly.

Love you lots!

Carolyn

Dragon Boat Racing

Hi guys!

I've recovered from my slightly melodramatic emotional roller coaster and London flu. I took the day off work Monday just to sleep any lingering virus off. Come Tuesday morning I put my suit on, got ready for my day, and made it to work only to discover that I was going dragon boat racing for a client's charity today!

First off, I was not prepared at all, like thank god I had worn my trainers and then carried my heels. My company provided me with a team t-shirt, so that was nice. But otherwise I simply accepted that I'm dragon boat racing in slacks today (the only thing I seemed to be prepared about was that I had worn my cheapo $30 pair of trousers from Amazon because my expensive slacks were still air drying – someone needs to tell Europeans about the magic of dryers).

Of course with my luck, it was absolutely pouring down rain. Trust me, I can all hear you collectively groan about me literally just being ill for four days, but a partner invited me and how in the world was I supposed to say no to dragon boat racing! Talk about an adventure. It's kinda like rowing but there's 11 people, including the drummer who keeps us rowing in time. It was a race against different firms and companies that the client employed. I would like to point out that our firm was one of the few, aka probably the only one that was completely female dominated so I'm not sure if it really was a fair race since everyone else were hulk sized male only teams. I have a sneaking suspicion they were the engineers and builders and not the client's other lawyers.

We raced three heats, came  in last for every one but had a personal record of getting across the lake in 39.35 seconds! And we weren't the last team, that was the team in 24th place, we were simply in 21st place hehehe. Something about getting absolutely drenched together and shivering in the rain but continuing to run inside to buy tea to warm our hands or chatting about things that did not really involve work made the perfect bonding experience. I talked about horses, and running, and tv shows. Not to mention the time we spent analysing our rowing techniques and placement to gain optimal time.

As you can see I'm absolute soaked through, but so happy with my little participation medal. This day reminds me of All Schools Day, which was a secret day on the calendar of the school year where our school would set up a carnival and the student's would not know until we were about five minutes into our first class and the announcement would be blasted across the speakers. Then we would run out to the field to the bouncy houses or the cotton candy carts or whatever area was set up. Never did I imagine that would happen as an adult! But boy was it fun. I have a feeling this week is going to be pretty hard to top, especially with a start like this.

I'm off to an early bed, don't worry I've dried my hair and sat in a steaming shower for hours just to warm myself up and make the chills go away after being rained on all day. I'm am practically willing myself not to relapse into that flu (because that's totally how being sick works hehe). Update you later!

Love you,

Carolyn

Just Me

Hi Everybody!

This weekend was the worst. Being in a foreign country is amazing, until you get sick. And then you're sick alone.

Don't get me wrong, I love my own company, if I didn't I don’t think I could enjoy traveling so much. I am a good explorer, If you don't want to do something with me it that's fine, I'll just go on my own. I've never once gotten homesick on any of my travels, now before you go there, I miss you all terribly, but that's not being homesick.

There's just something extra suckish about staying in bed all day, and then realising that you have to make your own chicken noodle soup or run to the pharmacy to get medicine or make your own cup of lemon honey tea. And for the first time since being gone, I felt well and truly alone in my one bedroom apartment simply wishing  I had a roommate (for those of you that know what went down, you know that I was really feeling it to be wishing for a roommate). But you know what? In the end it was fine. Simply because all of you were there, without physically being there. 

Gardenia called and found out I was sick and basically was ready in that instant to amazon prime me anything I needed. Obviously my parents were good company, constantly checking in as Doctor Mom. Kelly listened to me whine and Tanja sent me pictures of her German sibling adventures even though she hates taking pictures. Kathleen facetimed me, and I know she prayed for me to get better soon. And before I knew it, the day wasn't so long, I had a good list of Netflix shows to get me through, and the best constant stream of company.

So when Sunday rolled around and I had to make a very long journey from my apartment to Balham to pick up my suit that Jes had borrowed and left with her aunt for me to collect. I turned that four hour journey into a mini adventure. Loaded up on lemsip and cough drops. Stopped halfway on my hour and a half tube ride for the best pancakes ever in Borough. 

And when the hostess asked me how many people were coming, I simply smiled and said "Just me." Because even though we're in different time zones and countries, even though we're millions of miles away, you're there right with me. The hostess can't see you, but I know that with a phone call or a text message, I have a whole tribe at my ready. With love like that, I simply can't feel alone.

Thank you all for being you.

Love you lots,

Carolyn

Sitting At A Giant's Desk

Hi Family!

So if you come to London to work at a law firm and say you're from America, anything you say about your work experience at US law firms will inevitably be followed up with this phrase "so like in Suits?" or "Oh just like in How to Get Away With Murder." At first I kind of balked at this, and was like no of course not like a totally fantasy tv show. However, as I continue to work here I'm start to realize that maybe, just maybe there's a little bit too much truth in either of those fantasy shows as the American lawyers have a bit too much character compared to these UK ones. 

First off, you can throw away any sense of hierarchy when you enter a UK firm. I mean obviously by title you've got your secretaries, your junior or senior associates, your partners, and let's not forget the trainees. But Imagine this, you can walk into any office, sit at any desk and go your merry own way without someone feeling insulted. That's right people, partners here SHARE offices. Not only do they share offices, but they share offices with an attorney of any rank. And if that partner or senior associate is out on holiday, they will happily have you plug in your laptop into that desk and work in their space. Which is how this girl here ended up sitting at a giant's desk.

Now I'm sure that this guy wasn't a giant, but he was definitely larger than me. Just picture me, in this seat set as low as it can go, with the arms moved way and wide out, massive leather shoes under the desk, and the monitors set to the highest height. I looked positively ridiculous sitting there,  but was too afraid to change anything, as it didn't seem right since it wasn't my seat at all. (In hindsight, I could have changed all the settings to match a person of my size and have been perfectly okay, but I didn't figure that out until the end of the week, when I had been sent back to real estate.)

Since I was working in tax this week, I was sent down to floor two and plopped into a partner's desk while he was away on holiday. Even more crazy, this partner was in a cubicle space. Maybe you guys think I'm crazy to be in such awe with such a simple thing. Let me explain to you how it went at my last firm...

Bottom rung you sit in a cubicle. A little up there and you get an inside office. Partner and you got an outer office WITH windows. Everyone wanted that window space. Your office was your own space, each one with rather pricey furniture and full of expensive flotsam and jetsam: I-don't-know-who-that-is signed baseballs, imported rugs, bottles of alcohol I don't even want to know the cost of. If I ever had to go to a partner's office to grab something, I made sure not to breathe, for fear that I would mess something up and the partner would notice, and depending on the partner, throw a rather public hissy fit about. Now not all law firms are like this I'm sure, and I will give you that I was on a very weird floor with quite a few characters. But that sense of hierarchy is and will probably always be there.

Sometimes I chuckle to myself and wonder if my reaction to London's takedown of the legal hierarchy  is maybe how soviet countries felt with the implementation of communism. It's like I've walked in an alternate universe from what I have seen before, and I gotta say, I kind of like this system here. I mean don't get me wrong, the food chain still exists here, it's not like trainees are barging into a partner's office going "yo broski" and I don't think that will ever happen. However the relationships here seem to be better and more teamwork oriented. In some weird way, within a strongly individualist society, you've managed to get a totally collectivist legal work culture.

I see this over and over again, where I'm not expected to staple 100 copies of something just because I'm an intern. Or fetch the coffee because I'm an intern. Trust me, I offer to do these simple tasks to anyone and everyone when I don't have work to do and the answer is always the same, I can do the task and simply you're not here to do x,y, or z. Shocking I know.

If you've made it this far in the post and are wondering why the heck I haven't talked about tax law, it's because it was capital B-O-R-I-N-G. I mean I can probably quote you the latest British Government opinion and actions on offshore accounts or legislature to crack down on tax evasion. I can chart you the percentages and stamp duty taxes for various sundry things. But it all boils down to tax lawyers being the middle man between a corporation/billionaire who doesn't want to pay taxes and the government trying to force them to pay taxes. And since they're lawyers, they will probably find a loop hole and be the good guy, or not find a loop hole and have to tell their client, nope that's fraud, either change it or go to jail. So probably not going to make a career of this field, but I did get some really great insights into what type of a firm I want to work for and made a really great friend, Frankie, the trainee who sat next to me and gave me some great legal exercises when my to-do lists were severely lacking. 

But beyond that, the week was quiet, with lots of down time, reading, and observing. All I can say is I can't wait to go back to real estate next week!

Love you guys lots,

Carolyn

Who Needs Prince Eric When You Have Sebastian?

Hi guys!

If you thought yesterday was good, just wait until I tell you all about how today went! Okay first off I'm old, and staying out until 3 am just is not the same as it used to be when I was 19. YIKES. Anyways that 9 am alarm was brutal, but we did it. Jes is part of this program where you can walk people's dogs for free, aka a cool way to kind of have pet time when you're not stable enough to actually own a pet. (I wonder if they have this back at home because if so I'm signing up asap). So today we went to pick up Sebastian, and it was true love. Sebastian is the cutest, most energetic dog ever. If you kneel down he'll cuddle right up to you. So needless to say walking him on the beach (another one of my favorite things in life) was simply a dream come true! I had so much fun playing around that I never wanted to leave Brighton. Alas, Jes did have to house-sit for her Aunt and Sebastian's owner came home so we had to take him back. But what an awesome way to start our day!

Traffic is never bad when you have a friend to karaoke in the car with! Even if that means that she unintentionally stalled the car at a green light because we were singing along a little too hard to ABBA's "Dancing Queen." Oopsies. The pedestrians were totally amused, the cars behind us that kind of missed the light, not so much. What can I say? Life's to short to get angry about silly things, and if you thought that a little honking and car stalling would stop our dancing queen extravaganza, nope, we continued on at the top of our lungs like the loonies we are.

Perks of going to a friend's family's house is baby photos! Here is a great photo of baby Jes. 

After checking on her two teenage boy cousins, and seeing that the house hadn't been burned down or turned into a total mess after a day of no parents, we adventured out to Brixton to meet Chinello, another one of Jes' friends. If you think lawyers can do anything, the answer is they can. Which is how Chinello literally owns her own cake shop  making this amazing fancy pants cakes as a side hustle while working  a full time job kinda related to law. Don't worry, I'm not crazy enough to open a bakery after three years of slaving away for a JD, but it's nice to see that you don't have to practice law for forever. And I'm sure the cake contracts she has are iron clad with those unsuspecting customers hehehe. After a couple of hours chatting, I was dead on my feet and took the tube home for a nice bath and an early bed time so that I could be fresh and ready for my second week of work.

Stay tuned!

Xx,

Carolyn

Brighton By The Sea

Hi Fam!

Last night when I got off work Jes and I adventured to her friend Hasmita's house. After good Indian food, fun chats, and a chick flick, we car-eoked our way to Brighton at 11 pm and reached our destination half past midnight. Jes lives in a tiny apartment that is so cute and literally a five minute walk to the beach. Weirdest thing in the morning was waking up to seagulls. I don't think I've ever woken up to seagulls. Also so weird, because in my head I know I'm in England, and it's an island, and I was right by the beach. But 11 am, foggy brained Carolyn was so confused! I have heard that you can get confused when you travel a lot and think you're waking up in one country when you're really in the next. That's never happened to me, before today. When I first woke up I thought I was in Long Beach! It was so funny and weird. If you caught that I woke up at 11, it's true. Jes and I were so tired from staying up late last night (I'm old I know) that we needed a good Saturday sleep in.

Once we were up and dressed, I met her other friends Samantha, who lives 511 steps away from Jes (she counted, not me). We went to the cutest café which served ginormous portions, like American worthy sizes. It was called Treacle and Ginger. The food was out of this world, I got a fried egg sandwich with veggies and chili jam. Who knew that chili and jam went so well together?! We must have sat there for two hours talking about everything under the sun. Actually, the topic that most came up was how Jes and Samantha lived a pretty nomadic life jumping around countries. It was really helpful to hear their advice and perspectives about moving from country to country. I don’t know guys, me moving abroad is probably going to happen and I feel like it's now a matter of where rather than if. But I've got another two years to make that decision, so we shall see.

Pro of coming to the beach is that I love the beach and the ocean is always my happy place. Con of coming to the beach is that this is an English beach and instead of sunny and 75, I got cold and windy to the tune of 40-50 mph winds. If you're wondering why I look like the Michelin man in most photos it's because getting my hair knotted for the next week was not at the top of my to do list and my ears were so cold it hurt. I'd rather look dumb and be warm. It's not as if I've got anyone to impress, sorry Jes.

We walked along most of the stretch of the beach, past the broken pier which is apparently Brighton's claim to fame. So of course I had to take an iconic picture in front of it. I think it's weird they don't just take it apart, they have a fresh pier that didn't burn down and won't pollute the ocean. But beauty or importance is in the eye of the beholder I guess. Also if you're wondering why I lost my hoodie, the answer is pure vanity. I figured I should look good for at least the 2 seconds it took to take the actual picture.

Then we went more inland to the shopping centers and I just had a really good shopping day! I got the cutest dress that I can't wait to wear to high tea with my mom and a nice little ring (I know I'm obsessed but I had to leave all my nice rings at home because I'm travelling). While I didn't take any pictures of the things I bought, I did get some good photos of the city! Isn't it just the cutest?

Apparently Kind George IV liked oriental exoticism enough to make his beachside getaway in the same fashion as the taj mahal. Now, this does not really hold a candle to the actual taj mahal, but it was nice to have a bit of familiarity in a foreign place.

After a full day of just leisurely strolling, we made it to this tiny hole in the wall Italian place. Initially we were just going to get gelato for dinner because #adulting. However the lure of true Italian in this family run restaurant was too good, and we split a pizza before indulging in ice cream. All I can say was that was the best salted caramel gelato I've had since Italy. I'm in love with this place so hope that I can come back!

Side note: I'm laughing because Jes called me a fatty when taking this picture, but I responded that actually I was an evil genius who now stole her ice cream. Don't worry, I gave it back, after I took proper ransom with three big bites. Karma Jes, karma. 

Apparently Jes and I weren't done adventuring and didn't have a late enough night last night because we then went to a bar with a live Brazilian band. We met up with Samantha and another friend Dan and literally danced and hung out. You guys know how much I love dancing, so you can imagine that I was on the floor for most of the time even though I knew none of the samba or forro steps. Literally I've been in London three weeks now and this is the second time I've shut down a bar. It's so crazy how time flies when you're dancing or just having really good chats with new friends. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Love you lots,

Carolyn