Last Thursday and Friday I was in London on a business trip and instead of hopping on the first train out after the workday had ended, I decided to take the last one instead. I had promised a colleague that if I had the time, I would pick up a Westie Shopper Bag from Harrods for her, plus I thought I would do some strolling in the city as well.
Now the only reason she even asked me for this favor is because she knows that I am crazy about these Harrods bags. I bring one with me nearly every day to work. The medium bag is the perfect size for my laptop computer, magazines (ahem, paperwork) and anything else that I can't fit into my purse. And to top it off, they're made of oilcloth (read: waterproof).
So off I went on the Tube to Knightsbridge to the lower level of Harrods, which I can confirm still has the Diana / Dodi memorial, ensuring lots of escalator exiting fun. Of course, after finding the bag I had come for, I just had to take a look around to see if there was anything I couldn't live without. Not surprisingly, I fell hard for one of the current prints they carry -- cakes on a pink pastel background, what's not to love?! -- and decided against my better judgement to get not only the bag but the matching mug and tea cosy as well (I've always wanted one of these and would try to knit my own if I thought it wouldn't take me 3 years).
Now I wish I could say that it stopped there, but I simply can't leave England (or most grocery stores, much to my husband's consternation) without buying some tea. The food halls were calling my name, and I obeyed them. I bought a few boxes of black tea to bring to work as we've recently acquired a tea kettle for our office, and I picked up an infusion for home.
I also forgot that it's impossible for me to leave England without buying some Marmite, Cadbury and winegums. The Marmite I can rationalize -- I can usually only find teeny-tiny jars here in France and they're always expensive because they're imported. I can't really justify buying the candy, but I had a chunk of spare change and, let's face it, its boring waiting for that Eurostar to board.
Unfortunately, I never got to the strolling part of my itinerary. Two stations away from my intended stop, the line was suspended due to a smoking train or something of the sort. I ended up having to take 3 different lines to get back to my destination, leaving me very little time to do anything other than pick up my bags and head to the train station. Which is a shame really, since there's much more to see in London than the inside of a department store.
Friday, November 13, 2009 
