England Trip, Day 5 - Eyes & Merchants
Hiss.'>
Cat went to Westminster to see Big Ben and the London Eye.
Brie went nuts and wanted to stand exactly where Christopher Eccleston stood for the pilot episode of Doctor Who. Cat would have been amused if her feet hadn't hurt soo much.
Cat wanted to tip Brie into the Thames, and threatened to do so many times.
Next came lunch at Trafalgar Square. Where Red fell into the tourist trap of climbing the lion's back.
Cat almost had a heart attack - those lions are high!
After Red jumped - yes, jumped! - Cat offered him to her pigeon minions.
The Minions ignored Cat.
Afterwards, Cat went to Marks & Spencer to look at a vest-thing Brie saw the day before. M&S is Britain's version of Wal-Mart or Target, but with better quality.
Red used the wrong door and ended up in the basement/grocery store.
It was on the way back to the Ridgemont Hotel that the true adventure happened.
Cat was admiring the 50% off leather jackets when the yummy, copper-skinned clerk comes out and beckons her into the narrow shop. Cat followed with a nervous smile, Theign right behind.
Upon reaching the back room, the clerk - whom didn't seem so yummy anymore - proceeded to pull out jackets upon jackets for Cat to try on, all the while singing their virtues.
Such as being fireproof.
And then he proceeded to prove it.
While Cat was wearing the jacket.
Anyways, by this point Cat felt extremely pressured to buy a gorgeous jacket, but she couldn't afford any with only the 70 pounds in her purse. (The jackets were marked at about 225 pounds.)
Cat used the excuse of having to consult Brie to get out of the shop, and found the woman buying jelly babies next door.
Feeling safer with the whole party, Cat indicated that she couldn't get the coat, but the man - who by this point was very scary - kept pressuring, and offering lower prices.
In the end, he offered Cat the jacket for 65 pounds.
Cat gave him 70.
Of course, when passing a second leather store, Brie just had to look at this gorgeous trench coat.
Cat enjoyed the whole haggling experience when she wasn't the one being assaulted.
Cat realized that for both leather stores to mark their wares at 50% off, it must be the off-season, and this theory was only supported by how desperately the man was trying to convince Brie of how stunning she looked in black leather. (And Brie did look like some kind of monster-slayer/goddess-of-war in that coat.)
Brie had even managed to haggle from 1000 pounds to 225 when the man, in a panic, tried to convince Theign to remove his sunglasses.
His mistake.
It wasn't until afterwards that Cat learned that in many foreign countries (like the Middle-Eastern one where both of the leather merchants were from), men are accorded more respect, so during the haggling process the merchants were actually trying to sell to Theign, as they believed that he was the one they needed to convince.
That made Cat appreciate Theign's presence during her browsing all the more, and the skill with which Brie controlled the merchant.
But that also mean that the 'you can't see her properly with those glasses on' was actually a 'I can't read your eyes'. The merchant couldn't read Theign's eyes while he was wearing the shades, and panicked.
Cat didn't mention that 1 British Pound equals about $1.75?
Oops.
Cat paid about $105 for her jacket.
Cat learned something else about British accents.
Britain r's are practically silent, almost like an afterthought.
That means that Marks & Spencer is pronounced as Mocks & Spences.
And Trafalgar is spoken as Trafalga. Actually, Cat figures that Trafalgar is always supposed to be spoken without the r, since it's a British word.
Cat is enjoying the silent r's.
Cat went to Westminster to see Big Ben and the London Eye.
Brie went nuts and wanted to stand exactly where Christopher Eccleston stood for the pilot episode of Doctor Who. Cat would have been amused if her feet hadn't hurt soo much.
Cat wanted to tip Brie into the Thames, and threatened to do so many times.
Next came lunch at Trafalgar Square. Where Red fell into the tourist trap of climbing the lion's back.
Cat almost had a heart attack - those lions are high!
After Red jumped - yes, jumped! - Cat offered him to her pigeon minions.
The Minions ignored Cat.
Afterwards, Cat went to Marks & Spencer to look at a vest-thing Brie saw the day before. M&S is Britain's version of Wal-Mart or Target, but with better quality.
Red used the wrong door and ended up in the basement/grocery store.
It was on the way back to the Ridgemont Hotel that the true adventure happened.
Cat was admiring the 50% off leather jackets when the yummy, copper-skinned clerk comes out and beckons her into the narrow shop. Cat followed with a nervous smile, Theign right behind.
Upon reaching the back room, the clerk - whom didn't seem so yummy anymore - proceeded to pull out jackets upon jackets for Cat to try on, all the while singing their virtues.
Such as being fireproof.
And then he proceeded to prove it.
While Cat was wearing the jacket.
Anyways, by this point Cat felt extremely pressured to buy a gorgeous jacket, but she couldn't afford any with only the 70 pounds in her purse. (The jackets were marked at about 225 pounds.)
Cat used the excuse of having to consult Brie to get out of the shop, and found the woman buying jelly babies next door.
Feeling safer with the whole party, Cat indicated that she couldn't get the coat, but the man - who by this point was very scary - kept pressuring, and offering lower prices.
In the end, he offered Cat the jacket for 65 pounds.
Cat gave him 70.
Of course, when passing a second leather store, Brie just had to look at this gorgeous trench coat.
Cat enjoyed the whole haggling experience when she wasn't the one being assaulted.
Cat realized that for both leather stores to mark their wares at 50% off, it must be the off-season, and this theory was only supported by how desperately the man was trying to convince Brie of how stunning she looked in black leather. (And Brie did look like some kind of monster-slayer/goddess-of-war in that coat.)
Brie had even managed to haggle from 1000 pounds to 225 when the man, in a panic, tried to convince Theign to remove his sunglasses.
His mistake.
It wasn't until afterwards that Cat learned that in many foreign countries (like the Middle-Eastern one where both of the leather merchants were from), men are accorded more respect, so during the haggling process the merchants were actually trying to sell to Theign, as they believed that he was the one they needed to convince.
That made Cat appreciate Theign's presence during her browsing all the more, and the skill with which Brie controlled the merchant.
But that also mean that the 'you can't see her properly with those glasses on' was actually a 'I can't read your eyes'. The merchant couldn't read Theign's eyes while he was wearing the shades, and panicked.
Cat didn't mention that 1 British Pound equals about $1.75?
Oops.
Cat paid about $105 for her jacket.
Cat learned something else about British accents.
Britain r's are practically silent, almost like an afterthought.
That means that Marks & Spencer is pronounced as Mocks & Spences.
And Trafalgar is spoken as Trafalga. Actually, Cat figures that Trafalgar is always supposed to be spoken without the r, since it's a British word.
Cat is enjoying the silent r's.