London Trip, Monday 10/3--I've stepped into another world....and another..and another..

Shopping!! bebe me girl loves to shop! Harrod's did not disappoint. Afterwards, to give our brains a break, we spent some time in Hyde Park and then finally made it to Hoxton Square in the evening.

• COCKFOSTERS!! Just for fun, I thought I'd throw in the name of my very favorite Tube station name. I never actually made it there since it was the very last stop on the Picadilly Line, probably way out in Zone 6 or something, but I loved to see the name and giggle. Can't take the girl out of a woman.
• If the mountain doesn't come to Muhammed... You know what my favorite store is, but still, I've always been a little sad that H & M hasn't made it to Dallas. That's ok, I'll just go to London then.
• I can't imagine the payroll at Harrod's. How many people do they have to employ in a seven floor department store? Enough to man the luxury washrooms on each floor, keep the fresh seafood in Food Hall poised under the glass cases as if they are posing for a photo session, work the 27 restaurants, pubs and coffee houses, not to mention the usual retail positions in each store within the store. Every store had different music to suit the merchandise and walking into every store felt like walking into another world. My favorite parts were the chocolate and candy counters and the second floor which consisted of haute couture, evening wear and the lots of boutiques..my favorite being the Jasmine DiMilo boutique. I liked the contemporary furniture stores, but I must say that I like cantoni in Dallas even better. I wonder... did Princess Diana had access to all the merchandise when she was dating Dodi? What a lovely thought...
• Am I still in London? We stepped out of the hustle and bustle for a walk through Hyde Park to enjoy the green grass and trees, the duck pond, and the boats.. Apparently, there are riders and horses somewhere, but we missed them.
• Tube Thoughts... I'm not too fond of having personal conversations while riding the Tube since everyone can hear you, so I did a lot of thinking on the Tube. We experienced our first rush evening rush hour on the tube. Not too bad as long as everyone uses soap. I started thinking... I'm only claustrophobic around people I know. I can be smushed between strangers on every side and feel a little physically uncomfortable, but not emotionally panicked. But there have been times when I've been surrounded by 5 or 6 family members, I feel a desperate need to break away and breathe. Is this weird? My next thougth was this: I'm a little directionally impaired, but I always say that if you just get me to any major freeway in Dallas, I can find my way home. So it was with the Tube. Get to any Tube station and anybody can find their way.
• Speaking of directions... I'm all for finding out how to do things by myself if I can, but when it comes to directions, I just ask. It saves a lot of time and hunger pangs. I don't know if it's the proverbial difference between a man and a woman, but it took us an hour to get to a restaurant that was about a 2 minute walk from our hotel because one of my companions (male) did not want to ask. Oh well, at least we burned some extra calories.
• New British Terminology: aubergine = eggplant
• New British Foods: Double Gloucester Cheese (again, it reminded me of cheddar)