More London

We continue to enjoy the fabulous city of London. Photos are a little scarce. This is due to lots of rain, museum policies that do not allow photos and the fact that we have been to so many West End theatrical productions, where all recording devices are considered evil. However, let us give you a few highlights of the week...

Harrods. This famous department store began it's life as a grocery store, but has grown into an amazing place where you can buy a Tiffany lamp, star fruit from Cambodia, or a first edition book of your favorite author. However, they also have designer clothes, a toy section that rivals any FAO Schwartz, a doggie spa and an entire section of "bullet proof clothing." If you get weary wandering through the vast building, you can always take a break at one of the 27 restaurants, cafes and bars. Emma enjoyed trying on dozens of designer dresses. Her personal shopper Ms. Ammi-Said, continually brought her clothes to try from Dior, Chanel and the likes. I just enjoyed sitting and sipping champagne. Actually, I tried on several formal designer gowns. One of them cost more than my house. Oh, and Vera Wang was there. Yes, THE Vera Wang, live and in person! Emma nearly fainted. We loved exploring the food area and found many items of which we had never heard. All in all, a lovely way to spend a wet, cold afternoon.

Another favorite was the Courtauld Institute. I had never heard of this little gallery before arriving in London, but we had walked by it so many times on our way home that we decided to stop in. We are so glad we did! This little gem ranks as one of our favorite museums in all of Europe. It is very small, but packs a wallop. We may even go back again for their upcoming show on Toulouse-Lautrec on the 16th.

This week also had us meeting up with friends for dinner. It was so nice to see some familiar faces (one from Albuquerque even!) We had a fabulous meal at a vegetarian Indian restaurant. Emma and I tried several things we had never eaten before. We got to catch up with magnificent people and even hear a little about things going on back home. Delicious!

London is so lovely, and it has been nice staying in one place for more than a week. We are savvy Underground riders now, we are beginning to recognize the people at the market and we can actually spend a whole day without having to pull out the map every few minutes. However, we are also eager to see Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Not to mention places closer to London, like Bath. So tomorrow, we are back on the rails again.