A trip to Harrods

I had a plan for today. I was going to walk through Hyde Park, go see Kensington Palace, maybe a quick stop at the Harrods food hall, then off to do other things in the afternoon. All started well, I made it through Hyde Park

However as I was nearing the Kensington High Street the weather took a nasty turn. Being the strategic thinker that I am, I figured I would just move Harrods up the program and hang there for a half hour or so til the shower passed. It was almost 4 hours later when I finally emerged back on the street.

Harrods is, in short, awesome. Well, once you get past the fact that some of the Egyptian decor is reminiscent of a Vegas casino. They sell gold bullion. They have a writing room where there are pens that retail for £4,000. They have an art gallery. They have a "luxury gift and object room". They have a pet spa. They have a room that sells nothing but old maps. They have a food hall. I'm not sure if it is a result of six years of Melanesian exile or not, but I'm in love with the food hall.

So, what would you like to eat? A chocolate pizza?

No? Maybe some foie gras?

Or sushi?

I know, you want a terrine...

Everyone knows I like cheese...

What my good friends know is that I really love goat cheese.

Cheese goes well with bread...

Do we need some veg? There have round zucchinis!

They also have beets. Real ones. Not in a tin. Thought it might be handy to remind Jo and Sid what those look like (hehe).

Is it time for dessert yet? Cupcake?

What would you like to wash it down with? I had a quick look in the wine and cigar room and spotted this lovely 70 year old vintage whiskey. It is a bargain at £19,995 a bottle.

I was tempted by the caviar and vodka bar for lunch. But instead decided to go to the dim sum bar. I mean really, how often do you get to say that your steamed BBQ pork buns were made by a "Hong Kong dim sum master"?

I needed dessert too. Turns out they have a Laduree on site...

I had to get one of each...

Two other cool things to note (from the rooms where pictures are allowed). Sam, if you ever feel the need to replace that giant bear that met an untimely fate on the roundabout, they are only £1,700

And I think this might be the best board game table ever. The sides you can't see in the picture are Cludo and Monopoly (it is a full sized table).

Tonight I am going here

To be followed by "West End does Eurovision". Not bad for a Thursday...

Rain, Hail or Shine

I think I am going to need to go back on my promise of not using this as a forum to complain about the weather. It's London, so I didn't exactly have high expectations for the weather, but why did the hail have to hammer down just as I was wandering along the Thames, right where there was zero in the way of shelter?

I woke up this morning and decided that I was going to go sightseeing, rain, hail or shine. I didn't realise I would see all three! Despite the weather (and with the help of some directionally challenged behavior on my part) I managed to cover off most of the Monopoly board. To give you an idea of the kind of day it was, this pic of the London Eye was taken about 6.2 seconds before the first hail of the day decided to hammer down.

I powered on in the rain...

And then I got to St James's Park. By this stage I was a little on the lost side (it is hard to juggle an umbrella and a soggy map at the same time). I stood there having a bit of a ponder as to why all these people were standing at the gate of the building I was now in front of... Turns out I had found Buckingham Palace by accident...

When the pirate stripper boots decided to finally succumb to the puddles in Trafalgar Square I decided it was time to give up. So, it was back to the hotel, where I changed into dry clothes and decided to partake in high tea. There was all sorts of yummy things, including a foie gras sandwich, salmon mousse, caviar, macaroons, and even a choc chip scone!

Quite fittingly, tonight, I am off to see this...

Hoping for some sunshine tomorrow!