May 9, "Last" day in London

For this morning, we decided to explore around Stratford. It is, afterall, the area of where the summer Olympics will be. The plan was for Madusha and I to go see the Olympic Stadium, while Liatrice and Anna do some shopping at Westfield mall (the largest mall in Europe, just opened last fall). But once we got to the mall, which was a seven-minute walk from our hotel, and saw the size of the Forever 21 and New Look, Madusha and I couldn’t help ourselves. We joined Liatrice and Anna in the retail festivities, but not for too long so we could still see the stadium. The Forever 21 was the biggest I’ve ever seen, with way more merchandise than any other store I’ve been in. The clothes were also surprisingly cheap. After realizing how much time we’ve wasted, Madusha and I headed off to the Olympic Stadium. There were numerous people with foam fingers labeled “Olympic Stadium”, which we found cute and comical. We were half way there when a guy with a speakerphone kept telling everyone they were beautiful, telling kids to always listen to their parents, and not to fret for the sun would come out soon lol. Spreading love and positivity, something more people should do more often. So we pass the gentleman with the speakerphone and hear another man yell out “have your tickets ready!” Tickets? We needed to have tickets?! Welp, we missed that boat! We turned right around and walked back to the hotel where we met up with Liatrice and Anna who returned with really cute clothes.

After, we made our way to London Bridge Station where the girls went to the London Dungeon and where I met up with my good friend, M. I refused to go into the London Dungeon – the entrance clearly said “Enter at your peril”. Anyone who knows me knows that there is no way I’d enter that place! So off I went with M. We walked around the area, from the London Bridge to the Millennium Bridge to the Tower Bridge, to St. Paul’s Cathedral and to the Globe Theatre. We later then ate lunch at Nandos and took a trip to Tate Museum, which is a modern arts museum. Modern art.. I will never understand it. Sometimes it’s intriguing; other times, I can’t help but conjure a huge “what the fuck” face. What am I supposed to make out strips of wood carved in various curvy lines?

It was a wet day that day, and I noticed that my flats developed holes at the bottom of my heels. Soon enough my feet were soaked and dirty. I went on a hunt to find new flats, in fear of acquiring trench foot. Okay, a slight exaggeration, but my feet were getting really uncomfortable! I found £5 flats at Primark on Oxford Street – a massive version of Winners but with much cheaper items, and with much more people, heat, sweat. I bought them accompanied with anti-bacterial wipes so that I could just clean my feet and switch into the flats right away. Indeed, after I paid, I stopped in the middle of the store, wiped off my feet, changed into the new flats, and chucked the old ones. Apparently multiple people stared at the little Asian girl cleaning off her nasty feet as they walked passed.. but YOLO! Having on new flats felt so much better.

I was ready to meet Madusha by the Globe Theatre where we would stroll around, enter this place with a large purple upside down cow (I forget what it’s called, but it’s some comedy joint), and play connect four. I hate to say this, but Madusha dominated in the end. But in all fairness, I had no chance of redeeming myself due to lack of time for another game. We later met up with Liatrice and Anna - who had a lovely time at Madame Tussauds – by the London Eye. All together, M took us to a really great pub along Piccadilly Circus. We had dinner and drinks, and had a wonderful time for our last night as a group in London.

Once we got back to the hotel, we packed up for Paris, and passed out for the few hours of sleep that we could get!

Ps. Stupid Aunt Flo.