Oxford and Fuller's

I began my day visiting the amazing Oxford Street once again. This street is home to some of the most amazing shopping that it simply cannot be tackled in one visit. As I walked toward Primark, my final destination, I was bombarded by a quirky employee from Foot Locker named Eliab. He was so enthusiastic and excited to learn where I was from. In attempt to gain foot traffic in the store, this guy was working hard to make potential customers laugh. He did his best southern American accent after realizing we were neither German nor Australian and finally convinced us to look at some shoes. We did not by anything, but it was a fun experience nonetheless. After the funny little time at Foot Locker, I continued down Oxford and finally reached Primark. This is quite a grand store that stands two stories high and takes up almost an entire block. Today was my first trip to Primark, but I had heard from many that it was definitely a place to visit. After walking around for a while and picking up a few things, I began to relate this store to stores in the U.S. The grand Primark reminds me of a cross between Forever 21 and H & M. The price of the clothes and accessories was similar to that of Forever, while the quality was more like H & M. I loved my trip to Primark and now realize why the store is always a zoo. After a morning of exploring Oxford Street, it was time to head back to Johnson House to meet my European Business class. Today for class we went to Fuller's Brewery for a tour. I was anxious to see what a London Brewery tour would be like as opposed to an Anheuser Busch tour. Because today was quite toasty, I was hoping that the tour would be inside. As it turned out, the tour was inside but was warmer than being outside. Certain parts of the brewing process require very high temperatures and because there are very few air conditioned places, the heat from the brewing heated up all of the buildings. I soon found out the Fuller's brews 250,000 pints of beer per day which made me understand why the buildings were so hot. If I boiled that much water I think my kitchen would be a bit warm too. Fuller's brews beer five days a week, but continues to ferment and age beer 24/7. I was a bit shocked as the small size of the brewery and how old the brewery seemed. With only the Anheuser Busch tour to compare it to, Fuller's was no where near as technology savvy, big or as modern as AB. It was still a very interesting brewery to visit because some of the old technology that is no longer in use is still available for viewing. After the tour, the guides gave out samples of several of the beers. Two of the brews that Fuller's are known for here in London are London Pride and Honey Dew. I sampled both beers and have to say the Honey Dew was my favorite of the two with a light sweet taste. I think that the class really enjoyed this visit and I know that Dr. Lewington had a fun time too. Talk to you all tomorrow!

AM

P.S. Sorry for the delay in this post. I had to save it last night before I could post it and I never got a chance to post it after that.