airport to harrod's

the transition from one plane to the next was seamless, and it was a beautifully sunny day in dublin. i ended up with a window seat on the next flight as well, and spent a majority of the 50-min flight staring out of the window at the british countryside sliding away underneath me. i was able to get through to the passport lines relatively smoothly, although the 40-lb carryon was beginning to get to me. and then--silly me-- i picked the wrong line. apparently i did not have to wait in the 30 minute "Non-EU Citizens and UK Visa Holders" line. i can't believe i thought that was the line i was supposed to be in! i got all the way up to the customs agent before she told me that no, since i came from dublin, i had to go through the "Republic of Ireland" line. silly me thinking i was a US citizen and UK visa holder!

N's older sister, hereafter known as R, picked me up at the airport and helped me load the baggage into the car. and then--i will never forget this kindness-- she handed me an orange juice and a chocolate pastry that she had picked up for my breakfast! we had a wonderful, traffic-free drive through the english countryside to N's parents' house. his mum cooked chicken and salad for us and i got to take a shower (hooray)!

after eating and visiting a bit, N's younger sister, hereafter known as A, and i took a train into london to go make-up and phone shopping (only the latter for me). we dropped into some very good stores (UNIQLO and Zara) before heading to the zenith of all stores: Harrod's. A and i found some amazing things, tried our best to get lost, and eventually decided that we deserved some Godiva chocolates for not drooling on the jewelry counter. such gorgeous shinies! we've both decided to get antique key necklaces following our run-in with a Tiffany's stand (vintage stores, here i come).

then came the phone shopping. the store was packed and the sales person had to run my card three times (he messed up twice), but i did get a phone with 200 free international minutes (yay for spotting ads in train stops-- i knew my compulsive ad-reading was bound to pay off sometime)... so let me know if you want my phone number. it's actually a very cool phone, too. not quite my blackjack, but it's cute.

we got back in time for A to make it to her party. N's parents were also headed out, so they ordered chinese food for me and told me to make some tea and eat some chocolates. i did just that, and am now finished with catching you up my whereabouts. i'm going to bed.