Sunday I did pretty much nothing but lay around all day. Being lazy was much needed and felt great.

On Monday, everyone else in my program started his/her first day of work other than Tim, Ryan, and me. My supervisor was at a photo shoot in New York City so I was told not to come in until Tuesday. Luckily, Tim and Ryan have a week off because their supervisor is waiting to train them until the other intern gets to London next week. So, while everyone else scampered off to work in the morning, we got to take a day trip to Windsor.

What’s the appeal of Windsor? Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest occupied castle in the world. It is one of the official residences of the Queen. It covers an area of 26 acres, including a royal palace and chapel. When we first got there, we were extremely disappointed because a guard told us that there were no public tours of the castle that day. But then, we found out why. Get ready for this, the Royal Family was there. There was a knighting ceremony that day that was kept very low-key so that the public would not stalk the grounds. The ceremony was called “The Most Noble of the Guarder.” It’s when the Queen knights worthy people (like Sir Elton John). We got there a few hours before the ceremony so we went to a pub to have a drink and wait. At the pub, we met a couple who was attending the ceremony. The man was in it, but I didn’t really understand why. I think his grandpa was a knight? Anyway, the couple told us to stand by St. George’s chapel because that is where we would get the best view of the Royal Family as they entered the castle. I nearly had a heart attack when I thought I was going to see the Royal Family. Well, of course, there was no procession with the Royal Family, bummer. However, we did get to see all the knights, guards, and band march into the castle. It was really cool to see all the uniforms; it looked like it was out of a movie. Also, everyone dressed up very nicely, similar to the Royal Wedding, so I got to see a bunch of different looking hats, which I loved.

After the procession, we went to an eatery in Windsor called The Three Tuns. We lucked out and had beautiful sunny weather so we sat outside. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen the sun in a week. I was going to try my first official fish and chips, but something else caught my eye. They had grilled cheese with pickles on the menu. Not kidding. Nothing else was on it, no tomatoes, no bacon, just grilled cheese with pickles, which is my FAVORITE food. I was blown away. Everyone always makes fun of me for eating grilled cheese with pickles, but they serve it in the UK so I feel better about it. It was too good to be true. And it was delicious.

Then we went back to Spitalfields and met up with everyone at a pub to hear about everyone’s first day of work. I went to bed fairly early to prepare for my first day, which was today.

I walked into L’Oreal this morning feeling excited and confident. Yeah, that turned around quickly. Long story short, people in this industry are not like your typical Wisconsinite. It made me appreciate the Midwest, I’m never leaving again. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but basically I felt like the frumpy girl in the infamous movie, The Devil Wears Prada. Hopefully after a few days things will change. Keep your fingers crossed.

I basically just did a lot of scanning and putting products away in store rooms. It was riveting…

My supervisor ended up not coming in today, so maybe when she gets back tomorrow I can do something a little more challenging. I did get to sort through a lot of L’Oreal’s print ads from the past year. I definitely paid attention and I think I now have a pretty good idea of L’Oreal’s marketing strategies. The other high point of the day was that I got free samples! I love anything free in this city, especially when it is a designer cosmetic that celebrities use. That’s another thing, I got the scoop on what products celebrities like Lady Gaga and Kate Middleton use. I got a sample of the same face wash that Kate uses. Maybe it’s a lucky a face wash, who knows.

I’m all tuckered out so I’ll probably go to bed early again tonight and pray that tomorrow people will be nice and I’ll be given a legitimate project to do. Wish me luck!