Day 9: The Day of Hobnobbing and The Dollar Deluge

Another fine, however slow day. I am still incapacitated by The Plague, so decided to spend the day slowly meandering around Harrod's.

What luxury! What delights! What treasures! What crazy decorations! (uh, and Egyptian themed escalator?)

A lady selling curling irons curled my hair for me, so I had lovely waves and felt more that I belonged in this haus of elegance. She also thought i was from the UK, even though I worked hard not to accidentaly-fake-british-accent her. I poked around on every floor, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the variety of fine wares the impressive store was offering.

They don't really like you to take photos inside, but I did get a few in the food halls, which were AMAZING. I had heard tales of this amazing section of Harrod's, but truly, it is beyond words.


The ceiling of the grocery.


This was creepy.

(I just finished this blog post and am now proof reading and I JUST NOTICED THAT IN THE PICTURE THE DOLL IS LOOKING RIGHT AT ME! AHHHH I HATE DOLLS! ITS HEAD DEFINITELY WASN'T POINTED AT ME WHEN I WAS LOOKING AT IT. I'm going to have nightmares tonight.)



A selection of fine delicacies!


These doughnuts had red glitter on them!


Look at all those wee savory pies! I love portable food!


And some very, fancy fancy marshmallows. I need to step up my candy making!


In the lower level there is a memorial to Diana and Dodi.



I was quickly tired, so went to a cafe to sit down. It was a multiple beverage kind of day.


Best (and most expensive) chicken salad ever! With broad beans and potatoes.

I did get some little souvenirs at Harrod's, but my greatest purchase in London thus far is...


A complete set of British Harry Potters! With all the original drawings!
When I went into the Harrod's bookstore, I saw two sets, a fancy hardcover set and a paperback set that had new illustrations. I asked the sales person how much they cost, and the fancy hardcover was £182, which is about $300. No deal. The paperback was £59, more like $100. Better. But then the lady was saying how these are the new illustrations, and I said that would really rather have them in hardcover, if I was going to invest, anyway. She found a magical third set, what you see above, that has all the original books in hardcover, and it was £135. And it was the last one. But since it was opened, she said "I'll drop the price for you." AND she replaced the books that had scuffed covers with new ones. And then she took off £40!!!!!! That is no small discount! And at Harrod's, they can charge your card in the currency of your country so your bank won't charge you a fee. And in doing so I got an exchange rate of 1.4, instead of the 1.62 I've been seeing. So basically my dreams came true for $133.

Sorry for all the money talk, but I was incredibly happy and made off like a bandit.

Another interesting note is that in London they ALWAYS check your signature on the back of your credit card against the one you sign. And so I am constantly getting comments on it, which makes me happy because I practiced it a lot!


The toy section was also amazing, and so much fun. The little kids running around, exclaiming "oh my goodness!" in their sweet little accents, was almost too much to bear. And they had a little section on Dr. Who, so this picture is for Juliette and Cooper.

Next up was Claridge's for my gluten free afternoon tea.


This hotel is uber fancy, with pictures of Her Majesty the Queen visiting as well as Churchill. It also had some of the most spectacular flower arrangements on the inside, using all kinds of different flowers and plants in one color scheme, like hot pink.


A big Chihuly chandelier. I actually didn't like this one, too much, as it made me think of a big hairball, but I thought the shadows were cool.


My table! Before all the deliciousness ensues. I asked a waiter, who I later learned was the head waiter, or manager, if I could take photographs, because I would be reviewing the gluten free food. He said, "of course!" and I rather think I got special attention because of my *ahem* authority. The full review will be posted on my gluten free blog, www.glutenhatesmyguts.blogspot.com once I return. I was here for 2 1/2 hours, and in that course of time nibbled on some delightful delicacies, listened to some wonderful music, watched some faboosh people, and drank about 3 gallons of tea.



Here is the napkin that one of my many waiters placed in my lap for me.

When you lack companions you overhear a lot of other people's conversations, especially the staff. They all referred to me as The Young Lady. I would hear the head waiter say, "Could you please go and check on The Young Lady?" So needless to say I had a lot of attention, and never had to refill my own cup.


First was a selection of finger sandwiches on Genius bread, which is all GF. Ham, chicken salad, egg and tomato, salmon and cucumber. My tea is a lavender infused Earl Grey. Ughhhhh it was so good!



I loved the sugar box!


My second round of scones and pastry. Drool Town, USA, population Alison! Raisin and apple scones with the love of my life, clotted cream, Marco Polo tea infused jam, a coffee cream tart, and a coconut cake with pineapple compote and currants. And ain't none of it got gluten in it! Yee haw!


The chocolate was tempered so perfectly you can see the reflection of the camera and ceiling in it. And that is not a hard shell!


And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how it's done.


My second tea, on the urging of the head waiter, was Marco Polo, which is what the jam is infused with. It was divine, and I drank the whole pot!


The waiter then recommended/insisted I try another tea, because "you might as well!" and he brought me an organic green tea with ginseng, since he said I could use a "boost." This too, was spectacular.

They will bring you refills of any of the foods that you want, and I purposefully didn't eat much today because I wanted to take advantage of that fact, since this was so expensive. But one of the stupid parts of being sick is that I have no appetite, but was resolved to enjoy at least what they brought me, which is why it took 2 1/2 hours!

I took notes the whole time, which probably lent to my impression as some great important food critic. I thought about creating a moniker for my food critic alter ego, but couldn't come up with anything clever on the spot.

It was a divine evening, and I only wish I was in better health to have enjoyed it even more. I came back to the hostel afterwards, very early, as I'm hoping to do a lot tomorrow (including buying a suitcase!). So here I sit, after my day of lavishness and expense, with tissues stuck up my nose and a Japanese girl snoring softy above my head. Oh the duplicity of life!

P.S. There have been inquiries as to the hostel. I have not met anyone, because for the most part I am only here to sleep and leave before everyone wakes up or after they are gone. Plus most people are young teenagers. I did meet a new bunkmate this evening, though, from Australia. She seems very nice.

Although a boy did point at my feet today and give me the thumbs up. That's probably some signal in a different country, right?

I don't eat breakfast here anymore because the don't serve anything I can eat and there is never a place to sit. The room is nice and pretty quiet for the most part, and I would recommend Palmer's Lodge to anyone visiting London.