Shopping--At the High End

 

 

A Proper Good Afternoon to You,

I have some tourist action planned for the morrow, but today was cooler and somewhat rainy, so I decided it would be a good shopping day.  I covered a lot of ground, and since it was cooler, I went for fish and chips and was so hungry by the time I got home, I devoured them eagerly. Yumsy!

I don't know how to make shopping seem interesting. I took the tube to Knightsbridge, but we sat at Holborn for several minutes because there was a signal failure down the line. Then a bunch of teenagers on a school trip got on. They weren't bad--just teenagers speaking their own language. The same thing happened on my way back.

My first target was Harrods. Now this store is a genuine London Landmark and tourist attraction in its own right.  The original store was built in 1849, but it burned down, so was replaced in 1905 and is the largest (and probably most expensive!) department store in the world. The Harrods family has long since been replaced as owners. The clientele reads like a volume of Who's Who and includes the occasional member of various Royal Families.

It's fun to walk around. While the displays are beautiful, I don't feel right about taking photos in stores, so you'll have to be content with the shot of Green Park above. I did buy some things--shaking my head at the prices.  I cruised around some displays of luxury brands and squirted myself with some perfume calling itself Rude Cherry. I could not resist, but then I didn't like it--and later on when the scent matured--I didn't like it. I still don't like it. It smells like stale cough syrup.

Once I had enough of Harrods I tubed to Green Park which is the stop for Fortnum and Masons--a store I like better than Harrods because although their prices are just as painful, they have better tea, and it's a bit less crowded.

But I was tired and hungry and I had one last mission, which was to obtain my last dose of fish and chips for this trip. The sky began to spit when I existed the tube, but it did not get so bad I had to use my umbrella, which as an experienced European traveler I always carry.

Cheerio!