Today, Sarah, Lauren, Ashley, and I went to Kensington Gardens for High Tea at the Orangery. The site of the Orangery was built for Queen Anne in the early 18th century in the middle of her extensive gardens and next to Kensington Palace. So, essentially, we were able to have a very posh tea where royalty used to have theirs. It was such a beautiful building and an extremely sophisticated tea. I ordered a pot of Deereling tea and a fruit scone with strawberry jam and clotted cream- in the words of Rachael Ray, 'yum-o'! Plus, at 5 pounds, it didn't even break the bank. (Some local stranger must have pointed it out to me in a dark alley [that's for you Jesse and Melissa!])
After our classy tea time we headed to Neal's Yard in Covent Garden to get Sarah a chic little European haircut at a trendy little place call the Hair Fairy. Contrary to popular belief, they do not dye every customers' hair bright pink, and Sarah got a cute trim and some angles- adorable.
By that time, it had been about 3 hours since we had last eaten, so we wandered into Soho and found a cheap all-you-can-eat Thai buffet.
After another detour at the best pastry/coffee shop in London (Amato) where Lauren and Sarah could not resist the chocolate croissant, we split up and Ashley and I headed to Brick Lane for the Hookah Lounge. Eric, when you come to visit, I am taking you here- best hookah bar I've ever been to. It's an adorable little one room hookah/tea/middle eastern food/bar shop filled with comfy chairs, couches, and footstools. The owners dog perpetually naps, blocking the bathroom door, and everyone is comfortably packed in, fogging up all the windows. I loved it! Ashley and I got some peach hookah and a bottle of red wine and had an amazing talk. (Cheesy sidenote: I am so amazingly lucky that I have met such incredible people in this program- I could not have asked for better friends after two weeks, and I really am thankful)
After hanging out for a bit we stopped by Beigel Bake, a 24 hour beigel (bagel) shop with delicious, homemade, cheap bagels on Brick Lane- I chose cream cheese and chives. We ate our little treats riding back on the Number 11 night bus, which took up by Big Ben and Parliament, all lit up for the evening.
Can't wait for tomorrow- we're going to visit Jane Austin's house and museum!
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