Monday 6/27
Week 4 started off with a father and son presentation by Mike and George Bradshaw. The type of work that they produced contrasted greatly, but one constant I noticed was they were both very resourceful with where they drew inspiration from.
In the afternoon, we visited Abbey Road, which was not at all what I expected it to be. I guess in my head I pictured it to be on a quiet back road but it was in the middle of a busy intersection. The heavy rain didn’t stop us from taking the most touristy pictures imaginable.
Thankfully, the rain cleared up just in time for our visit with Emma Freemantle on the canal. We crowded around in a circle and passed around a plate of homemade (boatmade, I guess in her case) cocoa balls. She showed us some of her styling work and spoke to us in the most gentle and comforting tone of voice. We got to peek inside the most quaint and perfectly decorated boat that she got to call home. She radiated the most amazing energy and made us all feel so welcome. Our visit with Emma made for an amazing day and will be a memory that I cherish forever.
Tuesday 6/28
The day we had all been anxiously awaiting was finally here. We started off the day by entering the man by the rear, if you don’t get the joke I won’t even try to explain it because you just had to be there. Anyways, we walked in the back entrance of The Pregnant Man for lunch before heading back to the Wunderman Thompson headquarters for our presentations. Thankfully, we all did an amazing job presenting and Simon seemed to be really pleased with our ideas. I must say, I was very proud of DS1xMigos, the concept that Emma and I had come up with for the brief.
We postgamed Wunderman Thompson at a nearby pub that had a completely empty backroom with a piano waiting to be played. The events that ensued in that backroom that afternoon were hands down one of my favorite memories of the trip. Like a jukebox machine that has every song under the sun memorized, Justin was able to play pretty much any song that we requested, even if it was one he had never played before. We accompanied his beautiful piano playing skills with some not so beautiful singing. Very rarely do I get the feeling that I’m in the exact right place at the right time, but I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with that feeling in this moment.
After singing countless Beatles and Billy Joel songs, I said bye to everyone at the pub and took the tube to South Bank where my parents were waiting for me to get dinner. They had arrived in London the night prior and I was so excited to give them both a big hug and tell them all about my London adventures over some amazing Indian food.
Wednesday 6/29
Wednesday morning started with a trip to the Royal College of Art for their end of the year graduate show. I was amazed at all the phenomenal ideas and the professional manner in which they were presented, especially within the design products/interactions department.
I met up with my parents after for a quick lunch at a little hole in the wall, authentic Italian restaurant. After that, we headed to Harrods for a little retail therapy, and I got to see what all the hype about this place was about considering it was my first time there. For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Sexy Fish, with a dress code more strict than a fancy country club. We shared some seaweed salad, various rolls, wagyu dumplings, and fried rice. I must say though, my favorite part about this place were the ice cubes with the name of the restaurant imprinted on them.
Thursday 6/30
We spent the last day of June at the Art Workers Guild, where we met with Wendy Scott again, this time to present our writing assignments to her and the rest of the group. I love creative writing, so I was looking forward to sharing the poem I had written as well as hear what everyone else had come up with. I was super impressed with everyone’s work, especially Mel and Elena’s.
Later that night, I met up with my cousin Sofia and my parents for dinner at the Top of the Shard. It was a very special dinner because my dad hadn’t seen my cousin since she was a little child and it was my stepmom’s first time meeting her. After a 15 minute downpour, a beautiful rainbow appeared, almost as if mother nature knew it was a special night for the 4 of us and she wanted to give us a show.
Friday 7/1
The First of July. A day that will go down in history as the day that I was converted to a Shakespeare fan. Much Ado About Nothing was on at the globe and we were standing so close to the stage that we could feel their spit land on us when they sang certain songs. All throughout high school I would complain when a Shakespeare play was assigned for required reading, so in all honesty, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the show as much as I did. The acting was impeccable and something about seeing the play in person made it a lot easier for me to comprehend. I was laughing for the entirety of the play, and so was the rest of the group.
Saturday 7/2
My parents and I headed out bright and early for a day of sighseeing. Our first stop was Leeds castle, whose grounds were so expansive and well-kept. The hills surrounding the castle were so perfect that the grass looked fake, and they reminded me of the scene from The Sound of Music where Liesl is twirling around and singing. After, we headed to the Cliffs of Dover and got to see the border of France!
Sunday 7/3
Sunday called for another day spent in South Bank, which at this point had become my favorite part of London. After I said bye to my parents and wished them a safe flight back to the U.S., I plopped down on a bench overlooking the river to do some reading. I opened my book to a note my dad had left me, and started instantly crying from how sweet it was. Then, I watched a couple get engaged which only made me cry harder. I felt so lucky to have witnessed that special moment.
I met up with Hayley at Wagamama, a restaurant with amazing asian food, to finish our Bench project that Andrew Shoben had assigned to us earlier in the trip.
