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The next day Mike and I went to the Changing of the Guard with a whole bunch of other tourists....it's a must see for first timers and most enjoyable. The day was sunny with gently moving fluffy clouds which made standing around waiting easier to do.
We got lost a bit but finally found our way to the famous Harrods Department Store. This was on my list to do primarily because my parents talked so much about it and I felt like I needed to experience it, much like Emily felt she needed to kiss the Blarney Stone. Let me tell you that Harrods has as many levels as Blarney Castle to explore and costs a whole lot more pounds! Speaking of pounds the Food Halls at Harrods are beyond believable. Each floor of the store has a vast food section and each section has multiple restaurant nooks offering every kind of fabulous food you can imagine. Each restaurant had its own specific ambience and was designed to the nines (as Nana used to say). Choosing one to eat at was challenging. We finally decided on Bentley's Sea Grill, established in 1916. Bentley's is an iconic British institution known for incredibly fresh fish. The entire restaurant nook is comprised of a long salmon colored marble bar, trimmed with shiny brass and old fashioned bar stools secured to black and white patterned floor tiles. The bar looks toward an opening in the wall under a copper awning where patrons can observe the chef and his staff preparing each meal to order. The feeling is hustle bustle even though the wait staff remain behind the bar; it was New York with British accents. Business people, shoppers and tourists alike were talking and laughing while sipping on champagne and wolfing down oysters and lobster bisque. Bentley's Royal fish pie was served to the Queen as part of her 80 th birthday menu. Not bad.
In between the restaurant nooks were counter after counter of fresh food including extraordinay desserts, wines, cheeses, fruits from all over the world, sandwiches, flowers, vegetables, sushi, chocolates.......the list goes on and on. Each was exquisitely displayed making it impossible not to feel an increase in saliva pooling in our mouths! We figured we could eat at a different place within Harrods each day for several months without repeating. We actually got out of there with unusual restraint....three pastries and custom coffee cubes made just for Harrods (plus the three shirts Mike bought in the men's department and lunch, of course). Reading over this blog I see that I have written mostly about food......there is much more to Harrods. We saw floor after floor and department after department of designer and non-designer clothes, household items, furniture to name but a few. They had a whole huge separate department for just perfume and another one for just hair accessories! Harrods would make a shopper out of anyone!
After a rest back at the hotel Mike and I went out for dinner (remember that seafood doesn't stay with you very long!). We decided to go back to the restaurant called Cappuccetto's where we had a snack with Eric and Philippa before the play. It was a beautiful night, warm and still and the restaurant opened its doors to the outside allowing for some fun people watching while we dined on cannelloni and shrimp linguini. And so concluded another day in the Queen's city.
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