The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plane

Yea, we made it! Oh, and I do love the proper accents. Lovely indeed. The hub put us up in Knightsbridge--a block away from Harrods and across the street from Harvey Nichols. Now, that's dangerous! Did he know what he was doing? I think not! This is the view from our room. The kid calls this building "The Church"--don't ask me why. It reminds me of the Old Executive Office Building in DC. So pretty.

The infamous Harrods' corner

Our first line of business was, of course, Harrods. The kid loves this store. You see, the last time we were here, it was early November. This means that it was all decked out in all its Christmas slendor. The toy area was chock full of marvelous wonders to a child's eye. So, that was his first "suggestion" for this morning after the hub left for his business meeting. We went right up to the toy section through the Egyptian Hall--a wonder in itself. I'd tell you more about it (for those not familiar) but I can't type too well on this computer, so I won't. It's beautiful though, for a department store. This is a display of their Steiff teddy bears. All the animals are moving around doing various things. It was sooo cute. The displays here are wonderful. The Food Hall is to die for. Now you talk about displays. Wow! We stopped and had "tea" (but of course) in one of their little cafes. This one was French and had all kinds of decadent items on the menu to choose from. The kid got a chocolate croissant and I ordered brioche. Mmmmm. We shared a pot of green tea with jasmine. So good for all that ails ya. Harrods even has a Kryspy Kremes. The last time we were here, I believe they had just opened. The line was out the door and down the block! You see folks, it's all relative.

A Harrods' window. Tea anyone?

Where we had tea in Harrods, they didn't allow pics inside.

The fishmonger's display in the Food Hall. Yesterday's was even more extravagant!

Dodi & Diana's shrine in the bottom floor of the Egyptian Hall.
(Dodi's father owns Harrods)

The top floor.

Behind Dodi & Diana's memorial.

One of the floor's ceilings in stained glass.

Each floor has a mannequin looking over the railing.

All of these are Harrods' Egyptian Hall where one set of escalators are. (There are many sets!)

Later in the day, we went to Harvey Nichols where we stopped, once again, to have tea. This time, I had a darjeeling. We brought some baguette sandwiches back to the hotel for a little lunch. Think we will have breakfast there in the morning. After a little break in the room, the kid and I headed out once more and hit the Underground heading to Convent Garden (where Eliza Doolittle sold her flowers). This is my all-time favorite area of London (so far).



So much to do, so much to see. There was a fair there on Malaysia and they had stalls set up selling different wares from that area of the world. There was music playing and people dancing and was just as festive as it always is. We shopped and browsed, sat and listened to some music and then walked over to Leicester Square. Here is a little statue of Charlie Chaplin in the square.As many times as I have been here, I have never heard the big cuckoo clock chime at the Swiss Center. Today, at 8 p.m., we just happened to be passing by when it all began. It first cuckoos (and mind you, these are huge pieces!) and then the bells begin to play. As they play, a round of "villagers" come around the front, livestock in tow. It is so much fun to watch and it plays out for almost 3 or 4 minutes. I video taped it on my camera so I don't have any stills of the "villagers." It was such a great moment with the kid. We carried on to Piccadilly Circus where we hopped back on the tubes to take us home to Knightsbridge.

You see the votive I bought (and put in a glass yogurt jar--yes the yogurt is in glass jars here!)? It is Kenneth Turner's Blue Tangerine scent. To me, it smells oh so British. Gotta love it! I have postcards to post and lots or reading to catch up. But, for today, we've done enough. It is time to crawl under the "kivers" and get some shut eye. Tomorrow, another busy day ahead!

Afternoon tea room service. Oh my.

Cheers!

Oh, and please forgive any typos or anything that doesn't make sense. Didn't do a whole lot of editing. (!!)