AAAAUUGH, MY EYES!!

It COULD be cute.
It COULD be cuddly.
But it is definitely not little.
It just might be ... a wookie!!!

Hello, Lex. Please, meet Lex. Lex is another internet dude that I have known for yeaaaaars. I think I met him in late 2000. Either that or early 2001. I am so such a chat n00bstern00bie. He is the person with whom I have interacted onlinedly second-longest (yay for garbled syntax, but I like it).

He is also like, a giant. The shortest in his family (aside from his mother) and he is freaking 6'5". Egads! *earthquake*

I also must say he is one of my favoritest people in the whole entire worlded and exceptionally considerate and just downright wonderful to me!! Lucky gf he has. :)

And I've been told that I'm terribly hard to impress! I think it might be true.

We arranged to meet up in London at MCDONALD'S!! WHERE THEY SERVE EGG MCMUFFINS AND HASH BROWNS! HASH BROWNS!! at Euston Station. But when I got there neither of us was particularly hungry so we didn't breakfast there. Nor did we ever, btw. Shame.

So we wanted to make the most of our daypass travelcard and decided just to wander around. I think we went to Portobello Road, first. And then Camden Lock - though by then the shops had closed. It's weird, they ACTUALLY close up tight EARLY on WEEKDAYS - like, 5pm!! When do working people ever get to do their shopping or anything??? Weirdness weirdosity.

So I bought him a little late lunch/very early dinner/probably should call it supper at a little Chinese takeout in Camden. I think it was curry. With some yellowy rice. I liked mine OK, it had a lot of red onions on it, which was nice. I think his was soooooooooo super hot and he couldn't finish it. Unheard of!! Lex! Not finishing foods!!

:)

Portobello Road is super cute and I think I wanted to go there because I have an antique fetish (maybe it's to offset my "young soul") and heard it was good shopping there. Lots of veggie vendors in the street.

And there WERE cute little shops, but I didn't get much until I hit the the holy grail of all that is cute and plastic and monstrously overpriced, especially for an American!!!

I don't generally use this phrase, and I do try to refrain from it, but I just have to use it now because the gush, it must ensue - OMG.

I love this store so much it can't even be explained. And I dropped a BRICK there, too. Ask Lex, he can explain. I must have spent 2 hours there. AND NOTHING WAS ON SALE! (Well, they were selling it, of course, so it was on sale, but nothing was less than full retail price. *shock* *horror* *to all my peepholes in the know about the Targeting*)

Salesgirl said it was designed and produced in France. I love love love nearly all of it. But freaking ridicularous, $30 for a place setting. (Which, unwittingly, after several watershed events later in the summer, I tried to take on the plane with me - yes. Sets of of cutlery. With, yep, you guessed it, KNIVES AND FORKS. MADE OUT OF METAL. Oh my frickin' whoops. But they let me take it and recheck it at the airline counter and thank goodness for thick sturdy shoping bags!!)

See?

And the Lex, yes, he can serve a purpose.

So they had really adorable purses, of which I got several (as gifts also :)) and just the neatest cutest little trinkets and kitschy stuff - pens, plastic dustpan and sweepers painted to look like a prince and princess, loads of bags - I think they said no photos but I'm sure I can find pictures of the kind of stuff somewhere!!

Golly, if you ever go to London, please stop by! I think I liked the one on Portobello Road the best. I later hit one at Covent Garden and it was severely underwhelming for all involved.

Man, I totally spent way too much money. But it's so fun. :)

I'll post separately about OCTOPUSMANIA some other time.