WEATHER: Mild 22C
HIGHTLIGHT OF THE DAY: Shop, Shop, Shopping
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Spending a wad of cash – but this could also be the highlight
BUYS OF THE DAY: My replacement Swarovski pen for 23GBP
WORD OF THE DAY: SHOP, SHOP, SHOPPING
Well today was the first day of my visa run. The Tanzania Consulate opened at 10am, so I caught the tube and got there at 10.15am; to be buzzed through the front door to see 9 people already in front of me, in what seemed to be the waiting room. There were no seats left, so I shimmied into a spare spot near the window, and then the people already there were starting to get a bit antsy on who was next to go into the next room when called. So everyone shuffled into their pecking order that we arrived in and I got a seat on a couch for my efforts. I didn’t have a form, so I asked for one at the reception desk and she said she would bring one in for me. Well 15 minutes passed and then we all got asked to move into another room, that had more chairs and I think this was the ‘normal’ room for the visa processing. There were about 20 chairs down one end of the room and a guy at the other end of the room sitting behind this massive desk and this is where he took all the applications. The room was so quite you could hear every word that was spoken at ‘the desk’ and this process seemed to move a lot faster, I would have only waited another 10 minutes and then it was my turn in the hot seat. I had just completed my form as well, so that was good timing. They were unable to do the same day processing as the power was out and the fastest they could do it was for Monday after 2pm. Hmmm not ideal, but I think I will still be able to manage. The Mozambique Consulate was next on my list and their office hours are 10-12 noon and then 2-4pm. So, if I get my passport back at 2pm Monday, I can then catch the tube to the Mozambique Consulate, now depending how long that takes, they process visa’s on the same day (takes 90 minutes) so I will either just get there with enough time for them to do it, otherwise I will have to go back Tuesday to collect my passport. Worst case scenario this will be okay, because I won’t need my passport for the Brazil Consulate to ask my questions and I can then see the Rwandan Consulate on Tuesday afternoon and see if they can help with my visa application. So unless something goes to the shite with the others I think I am going to be okay. So I didn’t get my passport back today as planned, but I think I am still under control at this stage.
So not having to go back this afternoon for my passport, it was a free day. I had a list a mile long on things I need to get done when not running around with my passport, which is all I had planned for today, so this was a good opportunity to get that list knocked over while I could. So walking down Oxford Street the first thing I do is put more credit on my UK sim card. I asked about it working in Africa and they seem to think it ‘should’ work. The issue is how much credit to put on the card, if it works I need enough credit to get me through 3 months as I cannot top it up after I leave the UK, and if it doesn’t I didn’t want to put credit on it and lose the money I did put on it. Get my drift? But their credit doesn’t expire, so I can always use it again when I return in October, but it will be the sim card that could expire, if it is not used in 3 months it becomes disabled and then I would lose the money. I will probably end up just buying an African sim card once my money runs out on my UK one. That was one of the best things I did buying an unlocked phone outright!!!
Well imagine my surprise my Swarovski Shop was next. So without having to waste anytime I walked straight up to the counter and purchased my beautiful pen that I am 99% sure I left in a drunken pack in Barcelona. It’s great to have one back in my bag. NEXT was to exchange my London Card voucher for the real deal in Regent Street, which just happened to be on the way. I tried to do this in April when I was last here, which was the day before the Easter long week-end and a week before the Royal Wedding and the queue to wait in for the exchange was MASSIVE!!!!! So I decided I would do it upon my return, which was a really smart move as there was only 2 people in front of me and I only waited 5 minutes. The London Travel Pass gives me access to over 60 attractions in London and I also purchased the Travelcard, which gives me unlimited travel on the underground, national rail and buses for the 7 days I am here. This will come in handy. I had mapped out all the attractions I want to see using my London Travel Pass which I did before I left home, and after working myself into a nervous wreck I wasn’t sure if I would have time to do use it in the end, but I think I will now and I have planned my day for tomorrow. I was going to go to Wembley Stadium and Eaton College but the Wembley tours are cancelled till Tuesday as the Take That concerts are on there for the next 5 nights and Eaton looked a little ambitious for my first day, so I have decided to move things around and I am going to do a tour of the Lords Cricket Ground at 10am and then I have booked on the 3pm tour of Wimbledon. Make it a bit of a sporty day tomorrow and I am looking forward to it.
Anyways moving on I need a new day bag, as the one I bought in Moscow is starting to look a little dodgy on the strap, so figured it best to get in and replace it before I head to Africa. I sat next to a girl on the plane yesterday and she had a Kipling bag, I remember a friend once had a Kipling bag and it lasted for years, so I actually made a note to keep an eye out for a Kipling bag in the shops while I was in London. Well can you believe I walked past a Kipling Bag shop, literally a shop just of Kipling! Man this day seemed a little too organized, all my shops in the one street! So I did get a new day bag and I also bought a new passport / night bag, that is just small enough to fit a camera, purse etc. when I don’t need the whole day bag. This is also a replacement for a similar one I bought in Brisbane before I left, so not adding to my stuff, just replacing it.
Michelle asked me to by the girls some Royal Wedding souvenirs while I was back in London. There is a lot of crud around in the shops, but I managed to find a set of spoons commemorating the wedding in the Royal Dalton shop, so I go them both a set of these and I also found a pair of bears (like the friendship bears on the Hallmark cards) holding a large heart with a congratulations to the couple and the wedding date, so I thought the girls might appreciate that more than spoons, but I think the spoons will be the long term investment. Either way I am happy with these purchases by request. These will go home in the next package I will send before I leave next week.
After lunch (McDonald’s I hate to say) I crossed the road and headed back up the other side and I came across this shop called BHS and it had clothes in there that fit me!!!! I rekon I spent 2 hours in there, the shop was massive and I bought a whole brand new wardrobe for Africa. After wearing the same clothes for 3 months, it will make a nice change to wear another set of clothes for the next 3 months! I will be putting my other stuff into storage here in London as some backup when I come back in October for any reason. I’m going to feel like a new woman wearing new stuff! I got 10 new tops, a pair of shorts, a new skirt, 2 summer dresses, a new pair of shoes (my other ones got mutilated on the European cobbles) and 6 new pairs of underwear. I won’t tell you how much I spent, as it wasn’t basement prices, but can one out a price on a new wardrobe that hasn’t been changed for so long? It was worth every penny. At this stage I am now walking around with like 4 bags, it is 4pm and my feet are killing me. Time to head home. It’s funny, back home you shop, you take your stuff to the car and you drive home. Well I had to catch the tube home, with my 4 bags and I felt like a bag lady. Whatever you buy, you carry with you for the whole day, none of this putting it in the car business!
I am stuffed, but I got a fair bit done today. I did forget to mention that I also stopped in at Carphone Warehouse. I saw an ad on TV last night and saw the Playbook. The Blackberry version of the IPad, but smaller. Now I am a self-confessed gadget-holic, so I just had to check it out in the hope that it had a USB port. If it did I was going to get one. It could act as my ‘Kindle’ (which I was going to get anyway) as well as internet access and I could type my blog as I went rather than having to wait at night time and fire up my laptop. I could talk myself into anything, but when I got to have a play, it doesn’t have a USB port, and this is why I left my IPad at home. So I walked away, but I am still thinking about it, so I won’t say I’m not going to get it just yet, I have a week to think about it. It would be cool, but do I really need it?
So a productive day – I still have a few things to do, but there is still plenty of time. Tomorrow is a day of playing the tourist and I’m looking forward to seeing some more of the London I haven’t seen yet.
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