Living the High Life in London

For the last 14 months I’ve been mostly traveling 3rd world countries.  Living life as a backpacker I didn't care much that I’d been wearing the same clothes for days at a time because i was never in one place long enough to have my clothes washed.  I was enjoying this way of life and was not quite sure I was ready to re-enter the world of clean clothes, make-up, and high heels but I decided to jump in head first when my friend Afsoun invited me to join her for the Royal Ascot horse races in London. 

Afsoun & Jamie at the Royal Ascot Horse Races

My flight arrived to London just 12 hours before we were due to make our appearance at the racetrack and I had some serious shopping to do - specifically for a fabulous hat to show off.  Shopping is one of my least favorite activities but being that it was London I had luckily found everything I needed within a few “painful” hours (the pain coming from the insane amount of money being spent).

Race day began with a torrential downpour which dissipated in time for the Queen and Royal Family to make their appearance.  With the rain came lots of mud and the ladies dressed so fancy were caught wearing high heels all covered in mud. Actually it was quite funny!  While enjoying the races a few of Afsoun’s friends introduced me to a typical British cocktail called “Pimm’s” which we drank while watching the fabulous hats pass by.

I spent the remainder of the week dodging the never-ending raindrops, checking out the typical London sights, being utterly embarrassed when I accidentally walked into the men’s restroom at the Tate Modern museum (the sight of the man at the urinal will be forever burned into my memory), navigating the London Underground (Tube), having dinner with an old college friend who I had not seen in over 14 years, and of course getting my daily fitness fix at the local gym!

Tower Bridge in London