Goodbye London

I ended up postponing my flight back to the UAE by one day to meet with some of the cast, crew, and director of Djinn. I'm happy I got to do this for so many reasons. Firstly, I got to do some fun work in the studio, and most importantly, explore areas of London I'd never been to.

A day of perfect weather, good food, and friendly faces. It definitely made me realize that the next time I go to London, I'm creating an exploration itinerary. Best part, we were able to walk everywhere - something I rarely get to do in Dubai. My poor feet were so confused, they forgot the idea of walking for leisure.

I spent the day time mainly around Soho with two great friends and we got around to quite a bit. I got to check out a very funky vintage clothing store that I wish we had in Dubai. It has soooo much fun stuff! It's always these random stores that I'll find the one thing I've been scouring for in all the malls. My tea party girls would have went a bit wild if I let them; but, with just a carry on to take on my flight (I gave my parents my suitcase) it wouldn't have been a good idea. I'm proud of myself. It's so hard for me to control myself in a different country; I always manage to convince myself I absolutely need most things I glance at. Very silly.

We stepped into a great gallery space as well, there were different artists but everything had some sort of a realistic idea but displayed in a colorful and bold way. I love this kind of art, it's a mix of contemporary with themes of history or past idols. There was a room of Middle Eastern trinkets, except that most of them are things I see on my regular stop at the cold store on the corner of any road. It was amusing. Things are so appreciated where they're uncommon.

It was such a teaser walking by theaters with productions I've been dying to see. I heard Ralph Fiennes is acting in Shakespeare's, The Tempest. It's not normal how much I enjoy watching his acting, so to think I could have seen him live makes me wish I stayed longer. It would have been worth the delay. All tickets are already sold out; however, if you're in London just stay tuned at the box office because there are always cancellations. Weird. It shows at the Haymarket Theatre Royal until October 29th... just one day after my birthday. *sigh*

I was so excited walking around that I didn't realize how hungry I was. Hate it when that happens, especially when you're somewhere new and there are sooooo many options. So we walked around Carnaby St and ended up going to an Italian restaurant. It wasn't the most exciting choice, but a safe choice, and sometimes when you're so hungry, you just want to be sure you'll enjoy what you eat. What made our tummy's really happy was our next stop at Hummingbird Bakery, which I always used to call Hemmingway for some weird reason. Anyway, I wasn't a fan of the carrot cake cupcake, waaay too much nutmeg. I tried a black bottom cupcake for the first time and I loved it! I'm not even that much of a cupcake fan. The icing was just so fun and playful.

Then of course my tummy being the demanding diva she is was unhappy about the cupcake after I saw a frozen yogurt joint. Why do they all have that same sort of bubbly writing? Whatever, not like I really care. As long as they're around.

I can't get over how hot it got, I was lugging my carry on around and wearing a sweater. Yes, I do realize I could have taken it off. I wasn't thinking well. We stopped at a couple stores and walked around more quirky little streets. Everything was so inviting and colorful around the area.

We then went on a very straight street, not really the description I'd give the people around there, but lets just say it's nearly as colorful as the Castro. I must say though that I missed the guys, wearing USA flag printed briefs, dancing in the store windows. Castro 1, Old Compton St. 0.