British Life and Culture - #22 Last one!!

Last night I started watching Made in Chelsea, which is like the British version of The Hills. A bunch of people on this trip have been watching it and talking about how good it was. I hadn't had a chance to watch it yet but last night I finally did and I loved it! They show all parts of Chelsea on the show and it just so happens that I went to Chelsea today!!


Kelsey had been planning a celebration for Emily and Lindsay's birthdays for a while now. Because Emily was obsessed with the show, she's been wanting to go to Chelsea and hadn't been able to yet. She also found this tea place called The Chelsea Teapot and really wanted to go there. At the beginning of the trip, she told us she wanted to go do afternoon tea for her birthday. So Kelsey made a reservation for a bunch of girls at The Chelsea Teapot. 


It was a surprise for the girls so we all had to go there separately. There wasn't a tube station near it so we had to take the tube to Sloane Street and walk down King's Road. I think it was about a 2 mile walk to get there! Once we found it, we went inside and there was a room set up for us downstairs. It was such a cute place. The walls and furniture were all pastels and it was decorated so cute. There was gorgeous china set all around the table so of course we all took a million pictures of it.


After tea, everyone split up. I wanted to go back to Spitalfields Market to get a scarf I had seen there a few weeks ago. I tried to go yesterday but the website said the market isn't open on Saturdays. We didn't have anything to do for the rest of the day so I thought this would be a perfect time to go, especially since this was our last weekend here.


I made it to Spitalfields and went straight to the booth that had the scarfs. Apparently I was lucky because she told me she ran out of the scarfs a few weeks ago and just got them back in. I looked around a little but some booths were already packing up because they were about to close in 30-45 minutes. Then I picked up some dinner from the grocery store and headed back to the flat.

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #16

Today we left the flat around 9am to go to Portobello Market. We didn't have class on Wednesday like we normally do because we were supposed to go to the market on our own. Going on a Saturday is supposed to be much better than a weekday so we all decided we would rather do that. The other girls wanted to go later in the day but I went at 9 with Mary because she offered to show us around.

I really liked the area around the market. Notting Hill is so quaint and such a cute part of the city. I loved the typical buildings where each apartment was a different color. We walked past all of the shops that were before the market on Portobello Road. They all looked like something I would like but some of them weren't even open yet. Then we stumbled upon the market and started walking through it.

I didn't know all that much about the market before coming here. Mary told us it was the largest and 2 miles long! As a group, we walked past all of the stands that were general merchandise until we got to the food. When we got to the food, we decided to split up. I didn't really want any of the food so I turned around and took my time walking back in the direction we had come from. This time I got to pay more attention to the stalls and particularly the stores on the side of the market. The market had everything from tea sets to antique jewelry to furs. You name it and they probably had it. I mostly looked at the stalls with costume jewelry. There was so much to look at, it was a little overwhemling. Anna was right when she said you have to go with something in mind to look for because if you don't, you won't be able to focus on anything. That's exactly what happened. I wasn't sure what to expect and I didn't have anything in particular to look for so I was just kind of roaming around. Before I left, I did get a small canvas bag. It says The Notting Hill Shopping Bag on one side and the other side has cupcakes on it. It's recyclable and was designed by school children in the Notting Hill area.

The market itself was fun to experience and I'm glad I went. However, most of the stalls are cluttered and that makes it hard to look. The stores on the side lining the market were very small and didn't have much merchandise. I did like going into a couple of those, though. On my way out, I stopped at some of the boutiques that I had been eyeing on our way in. They were all open now so I went in several of them. Some were higher scale than the others and you could tell a huge difference by the store design. The cheaper ones were cluttered and packed full. You could barely move once you were inside. The nicer ones were more spaced out and their window displays were more deliberate. One store I went into was completely jewelry and it was covered from floor to ceiling of glass cases full of jewelry. It was really busy and everyone inside had trouble moving, it was so backed up. Overall, I really enjoyed Portobello. I can see some similarities between this market and the others but this one had more antiques and unique items that can't be found everywhere.

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #15

This morning we had our British Life and Culture class at 10:00. We gave our final presentations today. Before our trip, each person picked a place that they were excited to visit in London. We all had to give short presentations about the place to the group before we left. I chose Selfridges. I didn't know much about it, except that it was a large department store and that it had won the Best Department Store in the World Award for the second time in a row. I had researched the store to find out about it's history but I didn't really know what it'd be like. We actually went to Selfridges during our first Store Design and Visual Merchandising class so I got to experience it early on. The department store itself was really cool and unique but at the end of the day, it was just a department store. However, they have all these special events going on this summer. They have this big celebration called the Big British Bang, which celebrates the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. The three parts to the celebration are the Big British Shop, the Big Yellow Shop, and the Golf and Tea Party on the roof. These special events were my favorite part and really set Selfridges apart from every other department store. So I focused my presentation on these events. I liked hearing about other people's places they visited too. Although, many people were disappointed with their places so I felt like I experienced them enough through their pictures and didn't actually need to go.

After class, we had lunch at the Farmer's Market that was outside behind the building. Emily and I got hamburgers again and I think they were the same ones that were at the Real Foods Market that we had been to before. They were so good. The best food I've eaten in London has been from these markets. When we finished lunch, we all road the train to Greenwich for our day trip. The area just became a Royal Borough, which I thought was cool. We had a tour with Sean and saw many things around Greenwich. We even saw them setting up an equestrian center for the Olympics there. We also saw the Old Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum. I was disappointed we couldn't walk up to the meridian, which was closed because of the Olympics.

After the tour, we walked around the area a little while and went to the market. This market was very different than all the others. There weren't many vendors there. They all had knick knacks and odds and ends. It kind of felt like a yard sale at some of the tables because everything was so random. However, they had a lot of costume jewelry, which was fun to look at. Mary said the town is trying really hard to keep the market the way it is. Many of the markets are turning corporate and all of the vendors are selling the same thing. But this market is different because each person's things are so eclectic.

British Life and Culture - #21

Today was our last British Life and Culture classroom class. We met for class at the ULU at 10:00. We were split up into pairs and each pair had to complete a small quiz. We had a set of questions about a certain topic and we had to answer three of them to share with the class. My partner was Emily and we had the topic London Men and Women. The three people we talked about were Madame Tussauds, Sarah Siddons, and Ava, the daughter of Lord Byron. Jose seemed pretty familiar with Sarah Siddons, who was a Shakespearean actress and known for the role of Lady MacBeth. Jose said she was really famous. He was also intrigued by Ava, who was the world's first computer programmer. Mary knew a lot about Ava and her background. It was so interesting to hear about everyone's questions they answered. We heard about everything from theater, to the London underground, to the London dead. When everyone was done answering their questions, we got to leave.

Emily and I went back to the flat to have lunch. After we ate, she went to meet Kelsey so they could go to Camden Market together. I had already been there for class and it wasn’t my favorite part of London so I decided not to go. I wanted to go visit the store that I was doing a project on for my Store Design and Visual Merchandising class. Mary said she would go with me, which I was so glad about. We had passed the store before on one of our walks during class a couple weeks ago. I thought the setup of the store was really interesting so I tried to take a picture. The front wall was all glass and everyone inside the store could see out. When I was going to take the picture, I could tell they weren’t thrilled about it. I was nervous about going back and asking them a bunch of questions and Mary is really good with that sort of thing so I was happy she offered to go. We finally met up and had a little trouble finding the store. I knew what area it was in and what road it was on but I couldn’t remember exactly where it was. I looked it up on the internet before we left so I went to pull out my phone to look it up again but I forgot I couldn’t use the internet here without wifi, which has turned out to be a hassle sometimes, like this one. We eventually found it and went inside. I asked a saleswoman some questions and she was really nice. She answered everything for me and gave me a lot of useful information.

Then Mary left to meet up with Kelsey and Emily but I wanted to walk around the area a little more. We had only been to that part of London for a little while during class so I wanted to see what else was there. After, I took the metro to Kensington and walked around that area for a little while. Then it started raining so I headed back to the flat.

British Life and Culture - #20

Today was our last day in Paris. The girls I was staying with, Anna Marie, Lauren, and Erika, got train tickets back to London earlier in the day. I wanted to stay an extra day and the other girls did too so we all got tickets for 6:00pm. Anna Marie, Lauren, and Erika had to leave at 6:00am so they got up at 5:30 and because our room was so small, that's also when I got up. I tried to fall back asleep after they left but I just couldn't.

I was going to meet up with the other group, Leah, Haley, Nicole, and Abby. They said they were leaving their flat at 9:30am so I told them I would head over around 9. I didn't think they would wake up much before 9 so I was trying to pass the time as I waited. I watched French tv for a little while. The only things that were on at 6 in the morning were cartoons and news. Since news in English isn't too entertaining to me anyway I decided to go with the cartoons. Finally 8:00 rolled around so I got ready for the day and I packed up all my stuff. I ended up leaving my hotel at 8:45 and hoped I didn't show up to their flat before they woke up. I walked to the metro station and tried to go to the little breakfast place we'd been going to everyday but it was closed since it was early Sunday morning. Not much else was open either. I went down into the station and it was so empty. I guess Paris is pretty empty on Sundays like London. After all the stops, I finally made it to their flat. But it was 9:45!! It took me an entire hour to get from our hotel to their flat. I had no idea how out of the way our hotel really was.

Then we all left their flat and went to Starbucks for breakfast. We caught a cab and headed to Sacre Coeur. I thought it was funny that the cab dropped us off right at the doorstep. We didn't even have to climb all of those steps! It wasn't raining today so I was glad I came to it for the second day in a row. The day before was so overcast we couldn't see much. We went inside and walked around. When we came out, we decided we would head down into the little town for lunch. On the way down, I kept looking for the artists that my mom had told me about. I thought they weren't there the day before because it was raining but it was bright and sunny today and I still couldn't find any of them. We stopped at the souvenir shops along the way. Then we went to a restaurant for lunch.

From there, the girls wanted to go to Longchamp since they're made in Paris. We tried to catch a cab but were having trouble because there were 5 of us. Most cabs were small cars and only fit 4. We wanted to try to squeeze 5 but apparently it's illegal so we were having trouble finding a driver who would be willing to. We finally did and when we got to Longchamp, we were disappointed to find that they were closed since it was Sunday. We got out and walked a block down to Laduree. The other girls got macaroons. Then we tried to catch a cab again but ran into the same problem. Since we were in a nicer area, I knew none of the drivers would be willing to. Abby and I took the metro to their flat. I stopped at a fruit stand and got an apple and banana before we went in. We packed up all of our stuff and got back on the metro to head to Gare de Nord, the train station. We got there in plenty of time. We got a beignet before boarding the train and then we were off to London again!

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #14

Today we went to walk around the Southwark area. We all met at the London Bridge Tube Station and walked to the Borough area. I finally got to see  Borough Market! I've been wanting to go there along with Anna, Kelsey, Emily and Mary but they went over the long weekend while I was in Paris. It's mostly a food market and since we went in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday, it wasn't all that busy. Apparently they have other things besides food, like clothes, but I didn't see those on our quick walk through. I had just eaten lunch too so I didn't get to eat anything but I might have to take a trip back there before we leave London to try some of the food. Mary said that they have really good grilled cheeses at one of the booths. 

After Borough Market, we walked along the River Thames. I had already been in this area twice before but I didn't realize where we were because we started out on the opposite end. We walked past Shakespeare's Globe Theater again and Jose gave us a little history on it. Apparently the original one burnt down shortly after Shakespeare's death. For the longest time, there wasn't a building there. The current one was built 20 years ago and is a replica of the original. It was built by an American actor, who was appalled at the fact that there wasn't a building there to commemorate the Globe. 

Then we were standing by the Tate Modern Museum and it started pouring down rain so we ran inside for a few minutes. According to Mary, Brad Goreski was at the museum the same time we were! But we didn't see him. After that, we walked down the river to the Gabriel's Wharf area. We looked in all the little shops there. It's full of craft store and boutiques. There were a ton of recyclable and environmentally friendly items in the stores. They were all very small but packed full. Some had clothes and shoes, but not all of them. Accessories were very popular, though. A couple of the stores were very hippie-like. The area around the stores was very cute. It was a little square. On one side were the shops and on the other were restaurants. There were table and chairs in between. This is one of the few areas in Southwark that hasn't ended up in the hands of real estate developers. 

After we explored this area, we walked across the Hungerford Bridge to the tube station. Then we headed back to our flat. 

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #13

Today we went to the market in Camden. Jose told us it was very punk, boho, and hippie. I thought it was more punk that anything. It was all very dark and edgy. There were a ton of piercing and tattoo shops. There were vulgar words and symbols on t-shirts or other merchandise in some of the stores. The people there also fit the feeling of the area - they were very alternative.

The market itself was interesting because it wasn't booths set up. They were actual stores and looked more permanent. However, they were a little rinky dink. A lot of them had music blaring that went along with the attitude of their store. Some of the stores had strobe lights, which gave off a party/rave feel. The most common merchandise there was accessories.

There were a lot of vintage shops in this area. I also found that knock-offs were popular. I saw fake Chanel earrings and a fake Louis Vuitton wallet in one of the stores. Every once in a while, I'd come across a very girly store. I would say they were 5-10 in the market. They had a lot of pastel colored clothing and lace was common. They were all owned by Asian people. Everything was very cutesy and bows were everywhere. However, most of the stores were punk.

There was one store outside the market that was on an adjacent wall. It was called Punk Glamour. They had three simple mannequins in the window. They were dressed in skulls, which are typical of the punk style.

The facades of the stores were really unique. They would have giant objects above the doorway, like a big converse shoe was the most common.

This market was not like the rest of London at all. It was like it's own little world. It was also very different from Spitalfields market. Spitalfields was definitely cleaner and the area was a lot nicer. There were restaurants surrounding it and it was covered by a sky-light roof. Spitalfields is made up of entirely booths so it wasn't as permanent as Camden was. I think I liked the atmosphere of Spitalfields more just because it was cleaner and in a better area.

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #12

While I was in Paris, I focused on three stores' visual merchandising. The first two were right next to each other and had something big in common. The first one was called Bel Air and the second one had the "Miami Beach" theme. So they were both referred to places in America and used that as a theme for the store/window.

Bel Air Paris was a small clothing boutique, located off of Champs Élysées. I think they tried to use their name to establish a "Bel Air" character for the store. They had modern lights in the store and their fixtures were simple and industrial. They kept their store windows simple so you could see further into the store. They focused on three colors in their windows - white, royal blue, and yellow. They used contrasting hot pink writing on the window for their sale sign. In each window, they only dressed one 
or two mannequins and had clothes hanging on a white wooden branch.

The second store is called Agatha and is a jewelry store. It was also off of Champs Élysées and next to Bel Air Paris. It had a “Miami Beach” theme in their windows. It said “Welcome to Miami Beach” and had ice cream cones. This store was also small but they had an interesting way of displaying merchandise inside and in the windows. They hung necklaces on boards so more could be displayed. The windows seemed fun and targeted a younger crowd but the inside was sophisticated with black, navy, white, and gray colors and an elaborate chandelier.  

The third store is called Naf Naf and was also in the same area. It was similar to Anthropologie but lesser quality. Their decorations were so cool and were very eclectic. They had bright orange sale signs everywhere and mannequins dressed in gray dresses with the word sale written in several languages on it.

British Life and Culture - #19

We decided to get an early start this morning so we left our hotel at 8:30. We ate breakfast at the same little cafe we went to yesterday. We all got juice and croissants again. Then we took the metro to the Louvre. We were glad to find out that students got in free. We had heard so many horror stories about lines at the Louvre but there weren't any there. We got to walk right in. They might have been because we got there early though. We stayed for four hours and saw so much. We got lost a few times because it was so confusing and difficult to navigate. However, we saw so many things by just walking around. The two biggest things we saw were the Mona Lisa and Napoleon III's apartment. We also saw Aphrodite and Psyche and Cupid.

After the Louvre, we found a Laduree so we stopped to get some macaroons. That was the first time I had ever tried macaroons! They were a lot softer than I thought they'd be but they were still good. The chocolate was my favorite. Then we ate lunch before heading to Champs Élysées.

We were really surprised that Champs Élysées wasn't what we were expecting at all. We thought it would be like Bond Street with all the high end designer stores but it was more comparable to Oxford Circus. The only big designer store that stood out to us was the Louis Vuitton, which was the flagship. There was a huge line wrapped around the block of people waiting to go in. Then we got on the metro  to go Sacre Coeur. In the metro station, Erika got her iphone pick-pocketed. We had heard pick-pocketing was really bad here and that you had to watch your bags carefully but we hadn't had a problem with it. I think we were all being really careful at first and then started slacking off a little bit. I felt so bad for Erika especially because she doesn't have a laptop on this trip and her phone was her only way of getting in touch with her family at home.

 When we got to the Sacre Coeur area, we walked up all of the steps and had a beautiful view of all of Paris at the very top. It was rainy though so I'm sure we could've seen more without the fog. We went inside the cathedral and were really disappointed we couldn't take pictures because it was so beautiful. The architecture was amazing and the ceiling had the prettiest painting of Jesus with a golden heart on it, which was so radiant. There were also a sign that said there is always at least one person in the church praying at all times and it's been like that for the past 125 years.

We walked back down all of the steps and walked around the little town. We stopped at a tiny restaurant and had crepes for dinner. There were two women sitting at the table next to us. One was British and the other was American and the American one started talking about Chi O!! I thought it was crazy that we were in the middle of Paris in this small restaurant and someone right next to me was talking about Chi O. Then we took the metro back to our hotel for the night because we were exhausted and we had to leave tomorrow. I can't believe we got that much done all in one day.

British Life and Culture - #18

This morning we left our hotel and headed toward the metro station. We stopped at a little bakery for breakfast. We had chocolate pastries and croissants. Then we took the metro to Notre Dame and walked around that area for a while. We waited for the other group to meet up with us and then ate lunch at a little cafe called Father and son. We got our first beignet and we all fell in love with them. It's like a donut with nutella in the middle. It was SO good.

Then we all went to Notre Dame. We went in and walked around to see everything. Then we sat down to wait to see the crown of thorns at 3. They had a short service and then we could all line up to kiss the crown of thorns. It was such a cool experience and I know my grandmother would've loved it. It was in a glass case with gold wrapped around it. I still can't believe we had the chance to do that. It's brought out only once a month and we just happened to be there.

After Notre Dame, we went down by the river to go on a boat ride. It was right across the street from the Eiffel Tower so we got the most amazing views. We went down the Seine River and saw so many cool sights. We saw the American Church, which was the first church that America had established outside of it's country. We also saw the building that the White House was copied after. However, the White House is 17 times it's size. The boat ride was really cold though so I sat inside the boat for most of it. Paris was a lot colder than I was expecting. I checked the weather before we left and it said everyday was supposed to be 75, even though a couple days would be cloudy. But today was 65 and without a jacket, I was freezing! I should've known weather channel would be wrong because it hasn't been right one single day since we've been in London. After the boat ride everyone wanted to go to a restaurant for wine but I was cold and didn't want to risk getting sick again so I headed back to our hotel.

British Life and Culture - #17

Today was the start of our four day long weekend and we went to Paris! We all met at the tube station at 7:30 and took it to the Chunnel, which left at 9:15. We got there around 12:45, Paris time. I was going to have to get used to another time change. Paris is ahead of London by one hour.

We took a cab to our hotel. It's a little out of central Paris and our driver didn't exactly know where it was. So our first experience was trying to find the hotel with a driver who didn't know any English. We settled in and then were in a hurry to find lunch. We didn't see anything near us so we started walking toward the metro station and found a little cafe there. We had steak and fries for lunch and the guys working at the cafe blared music for us. Then we went to the metro station and got day passes.

The first big thing we wanted to do was see the Eiffel Tower so we headed there. We got to see it and take pictures in front of it right before it started raining. I was disappointed that it was overcast because our pictures weren't that great but at least it wasn't raining very hard. We didn't want the rain to stop our plans so we walked to the Arc de Triomph. We tried to find out how to actually get to it because there's a circular road that surrounds it that cars drive on. We couldn't figure out how so we decided we would just start walking in a circle around it and maybe we would find out how. Finally we saw some stair then went to a tunnel underneath the road. We got to the entrance and found out we had to buy tickets just to walk underneath the arc. We didn't think it was worth it so we kept walking.

Then we sat down at a cafe to get crepes. It was raining pretty hard by now so we ended up just staying there for a couple hours waiting for the rain to calm down. We enjoyed watching people coming and going. It finally stopped raining so we headed back toward the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night. We got there at sunset and it was already lit up. It was gorgeous!! We decided to go up it so we could experience it at night. While we waited in line, it started blinking! Everyone oohed and ahhed and started snapping pictures. We got up to the counter and they told us the very top had just closed. We still had the option of going up to the second floor, which was about half way up, so we decided to do that. We could see all of Paris and it was so pretty. Everything was lit up and the lights of the city were beautiful. When we got down, we realized it was too late to take the metro so we had to get a cab. The driver spoke a little English and this was a huge surprise. It was much easier getting back to our hotel this time! Today was so eventful and I'm definitely exhausted.

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #11

Today we had class in Kensington. We all met at the High Street Kensington tube station and started our walk from there. We went into a small boutique called Oliver Bonas. It was interesting because they had clothing and accessories on the top floor but downstairs they had home good items. However, their window display included merchandise from both floors. They used furniture as props along with mannequins wearing the clothes. I thought the blue chair to the left holding a purse was an excellent incorporation. Although, I do think the rest of the window display was a little cluttered and unorganized. It showcased a lot of their products but wasn't smoothly tied together.

We passed Whole Foods on our walk and I thought they did a good job of using furniture as props. They had wine displayed on tables.

We also passed Marks & Spencer and they used really great attention getting devices. Their theme was tennis and soccer. Even though the themes were extremely relevant, they did such a good job of making the display stand out. It catches your eye as you walk by and you can't help but look at it.

After class, I went back to my flat to pack for the long weekend. Then we went out for Mary's birthday. We went to Wagamama's, which was asian food, and then the Green Man for dessert. I'm off to Paris tomorrow and so excited!!

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #10

Today we took a walk to see Fortnum and Mason, Saville Row, and a couple Arcades. We had to meet in Picadilly Circus at 2:30 and I had a little trouble getting there. When I got off the tube, I didn't know where to go. Apparently the class was right around the corner but I had a little mix up with directions so I accidentally walked about 10 minutes the wrong way and got a little tour of Chinatown. I've been meaning to go there at some point so I guess it all worked out.

When I finally found everyone, we started our walk in an area where men's stores are dominant. The store design and visual merchandising of those stores reflected the clientele of the area because they were very luxurious and masculine. One thing I noticed is that they all had very well-dressed employees. One of the stores was unique because it didn't have anything on display. You had to ask an employee to see something, such as shirts, which were stacked behind the counter.  The stores were always sophisticated and they were mostly small boutiques. The interiors were very masculine in that one of them was decorated with antlers and dog statues. They were also incredibly organized.

The arcades were so fun to look at. They were like their own little world in the middle of the city. They were flawlessly clean. Jose even made a comment about them being as clean as hospitals. They were all bright and very well lit. I would say, in general, they were targeted toward business men.

We also went to Fortnum and Mason. I loved this store. Their signature color was a beautiful blue - like the "Tiffany's" blue. Horses were also a symbol of theirs and they were everywhere. Their windows had simple, dark backgrounds and colorful displays. The moment you stepped inside you could tell this was an elegant store. There were beautiful chandeliers hanging and the ceilings were very ornate. Their displays were very organized. At least in the tableware section, they used a lot of stacking (plates) and rows (cups) in their arrangements. There was a table with china that was set up by end use. They also had china that was Diamond Jubilee themed. I noticed that there wasn't any music playing in the perfume and accessories section and I was surprised. Overall, this store was so elegant and also fun to look at.

Store Design and Visual Merchandising - #9

Today for class, we walked around a new part of London that we hadn't been to yet! We all met on King's Road for our walk. We walked all down that road and looked at all of the shops. There were some chains but a lot of boutiques. I found that there were a lot of shoe boutiques. There was a Gap, which is a worldwide chain, and there was also Monsoon, which is exclusive to Europe. One thing they all had in common was that were small.

Then we took a walk down Sloane Street. It was definitely more high end and luxurious. Most of the displays were simplistic but the fixtures were expensive. Their windows usually only displayed a few pieces of merchandise and accessories were very common. One store that strongly exemplified this was Fendi. They displayed only two handbags in their windows and the organization was very simplistic using the outline of stacked boxes. The store Hackett heavily emphasized accessories. Their mannequins were dressed in suits but each one almost had a personality because of the accessories they were wearing. One was wearing glasses and one was carrying a briefcase, etc.

We saw co-advertising in the Smythson window. They partnered with a lighting company, whom displayed "jellyfish" lamps in the window.

Chloe only focused on two outfits in a staged design. The store was very open because the outer wall was all windows. The accessories were at the front of the store and handbags were the first things you could see by looking in.

Prada used a variety of colors and they also focused on accessories. They displayed only one outfit and accessorized the outfit, as well.

Dior's windows were simplistic but emphasized the outfit very well. The background indicated that the mannequin could have been at an elegant event. The outfit was also accessorized.

Versace's windows were not like the other stores in this area. As a group, we decided we didn't like them. They were too bold and busy. They didn't look classy and were described as tacky. 

Mu absolute favorite was Gucci. They had a giant paper purse in their windows. They had the actual purse to the left of it. I thought this was a unique way of focusing on accessories.

British Life and Culture - #16

I went INSIDE Buckingham Palace today!!! This was probably my favorite place I've toured here. A big group of us met at the tube station at 11 because we wanted to see the changing of the guards, which started at 11:15. It was supposed to last until 12:00 and our tickets to go into Buckingham were for 12:15 so we thought it would work out perfectly. Well...the tube took longer than we thought it would, of course. Then we got there and didn't realize how crowded it would be. We couldn't get a spot to see the changing of the guards even if we tried. There were soooo many people there! So we decided to skip the hassle of trying to find a spot to watch and went inside.

I went inside with Emily, Victoria, and Lindsay. We went into the Queen's Gallery first. It was full of Leonardo Da Vinci's work. It focused on Da Vinci's studies of the human body. He worked for years studying the body and had so many drawings of what he thought the inside of the body looked like and how it worked. He was surprisingly accurate with many theories. The most interesting displays were his drawings (like what a fetus might have looked like in the womb) next to the anatomically correct diagram of what it actually looks like. He studied everything from the reproductive system to blood flow to behavior and emotion. I had no idea he studied the body so this was a very informative exhibit.

The next thing we visited were the Royal Mews. I knew that these were horse stables so I thought the only thing we were going to see was horses. I was so excited I was wrong. They had the Queen's stage coaches on display! Each one had it's own little garage and we could get so close to them. They had the carriage that is used for Royal Weddings and that Diana had ridden in. My favorite coach was the Coronation Coach, though. Saying it was beautiful is an understatement. It was covered in gold from top to bottom and had Roman statues on it. It was so tall and absolutely gorgeous from every angle. This coach had it's very own room and it had statue horses attached to it and statue men riding the horses so we could see what it would look like if it were being used.

The next thing we went to see were the State Rooms. There were 19 of them and we spent the majority of our time going through these. They consisted of a Ballroom, Drawing rooms (like living rooms), a dining room, and rooms simply for entertaining. This is where presidents or kings of other nations would come and where the Queen would entertain them. Every single one of these rooms was breathtaking. I can't even describe how beautiful they were. I'm so disappointed they wouldn't allow photography in these rooms but it's probably a good thing they didn't because I would've spent an hour in each one just taking pictures. However, I did spend at least 10-15 minutes in each room because there was so much to look at. They were decorated just as they always are in use. Everything from the furniture to the lamps to the fireplaces to the hallways to every inch of the ceilings were covered in gold and lavish with detail. I have never seen anything so gorgeous in my whole entire life. We've seen some very pretty palaces and sights here in London but none of those can even compare to these State Rooms. I didn't realize that most of the decoration of the palace was because of King George IV and Queen Victoria. King George IV was responsible for most of the lavish architecture and decorations but some of the palace was unfinished when he died so Victoria continued the work.

While we were there, we also saw the crown jewels. I thought it was interesting how many of the crown jewels were made for past princesses and queens and especially Queen Victoria but hardly anything was made particularly for Queen Elizabeth II. All of the pieces were passed down to her, of course. I love how they included pictures of Queen Elizabeth II wearing each piece throughout her rein.

This tour was worth every penny and I feel so lucky to have been able to do it.