2006 London - Fandrick's Vacation

Our 6th day in London was a day of more exploring this exciting
world-class city. We found more places that we wanted to visit
and come back to.

Of course, Harrod's (The World's Most Famous Department Store) was
high on our list after driving by on our bus tour...

St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church is recognized for its tradition of tending to the poor and homeless since WWI.
The church, an early 18th-century masterpiece by James Gibbs has become a model for the Colonial style of church-
building in the United States. The 185-foot spire wasn't added until 1826.

Trafalgar Square, in London's West End is their main venue for public rallies and protest movements. Designed
by John Nash, it is London's largest square. It is also the location of the city's largest New Year's Eve Celebration.

We selected the wrong day (Saturday) to go to one of London's most famous department stores:
Harrods The place was extremely crowded, especially the 'Food Hall' (where else?). Weekends
bring out many shoppers from the UK as well as from France and Belgium (only 2 1/2 hours away by
EuroStar Train. This store is so famous it made its owner, Mohammed Al-Fayed, a global celebrity.

Karen was a 'wonderfully restrained shopper'. (She knew we had limited space in our luggage...)

One section of the huge Legendary Food Hall! There are 28 restaurants in Harrods.
(Including: Starbucks, Harrods Chocolate Bar, Champagne and Oyster Bar, Sea Grill, Bagel Factory,
Green Man Pub, Morelli's Gelato, Krispy Kreme, Sushi Bar, Terrace Bar, Mo's Diner and much more...)

In 1834, Founder Charles Henry Harrod set up as a wholesale grocer in Stepney, with a special
interest in tea. In 1849, to escape the filth of the inner city and capitalise on trade to the Great
Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park -- Harrod took over a small shop in the new district of
Knightsbridge on the site of the current store. In 1883, the store burnt to the ground, but a new
building immediately rose from the ashes, and soon it extended credit for the first time to its
best customers among them Oscar Wilde and legendary actresses Lilly Langtry and Ellen Terry.

We arranged a meeting place and I visited the 3rd floor bookstore and computers.

We heard beautiful music from a man and a lady singing opera
near the escalators at the center of the store.

Karen waited until we were leaving at Gatwick International Airport to get
one of the coveted green plastic Harrod's bags. (Chocolates and gifts!)