Ugh, I’ve been so lax lately in terms of blogging. Well, not
just blogging—pretty much everything. It’s nearing the end of the semester, and
it’s been particularly gray, cold, and rainy the last few weeks, so the
motivation to do things is practically non-existent.
But I hope to rectify that now, and invite you to travel
with me back in time, to Thursday, 12 April 2012:
My original plan for the last Thursday of Easter Break was
to spend some time typing away on one of my final coursework assignments (CW2).
However, the rain and the cold were making me more inclined to just stay in bed
and do nothing. Fortunately, EN lit a fire under my behind with a text inviting
me to go with her to a museum.
A short while later, we met at the Victoria & Albert museum. The V&A had been on my list of places
to see since the beginning. Nic and I attempted to go there back in 2008 but,
having just spent hours at the British Museum, we changed our mind at the last
moment. As such, I was really looking forward to it this time…
I should have remembered my experience with the Dickens Museum, another tourist attraction I had desperately wanted to see.
Sadly, in case you haven't already guessed, I didn’t really enjoy myself. There was so much to
see, but the way it was curated and exhibited just felt…lackluster. However, to
be fair, my point-of-view was probably the result of being under the spell of a
rainy day malaise coupled with a desperate need for coffee.
Also, the exhibit I
had been looking forward to for months (and part of the reason I put off the
trip for as long as I did)—the photographs of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,
taken by Cecil Beaton—was
not free after all, and I didn’t want to drop £6 just to see a bunch of photos
(even if they are amazing).
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| The third one from the left (top row) is one of my favorites--but I cannot find a close-up of it by itself anywhere. |
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| Sir Beaton was quite the hottie in his youth! |
Again, this decision was probably influenced by my
insufficient levels of caffeine and joy.
In the end, we only stayed for about 1.5 hours. I feel kind
of bad that we didn’t stay longer—especially given the V&A’s reputation—but
I just didn’t have it in me that day. Maybe I’ll go back at some point before
heading home.
Upon leaving the V&A, EN and I started wandering around
Kensington and Chelsea. We wanted a cup of coffee, and eventually found one at
a nearby Costa—the situation was dire, hence my ready agreement to break the
rule I’ve generally tried to keep while in London of avoiding chains.
After sufficient java-infusion, and a long chat about
growing up in the church and the damage caused by being too close to the
internal politics therein, we continued walking around (in much happier moods).
Eventually we found ourselves standing before one of
London’s most famous stores: Harrods. All I can say is: oh. my. goodness. It was breathtaking, and in many places
possessed a…unique Egyptian theme.
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| Beneath the Egyptian escalator--he was taller than me. |
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| You can't tell from this photo, but there's a mannequin on this balcony promoting clothes sold on that floor. |
My mother likes to tell a story about how, as a young child,
she was once told that Heaven would look however she wanted, and how it would
be filled with whatever she wanted most. To her young mind this vision
translated to an upmarket department store she used to visit with her
grandmother, which had Heaven’s very best hamburgers resting in the glistening
display cases, just waiting to be eaten. (Sounds like a pretty good idea of
Heaven to me!)
Harrods was kind of like that to me in certain ways. Namely,
the prices were so far beyond anything I could comprehend that it seemed unreal
and out-of-this-world. Case-in-point: a simple, black hair-comb—no bigger than
the average mobile, and unadorned—was priced in excess of £200! A simple pair
of gray sweatpants for men…£119. (Don’t believe me, see them for yourself
here.)
Oh, and have I mentioned the fact that there was not a single person working in
that store who wasn’t a modern day Apollo or Aphrodite?
Now, I confess that I somewhat expected what I found—I knew
of Harrods’ reputation—but there was another reason why I wanted to visit this
famous shop: the memorial to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. You see,
Mohamed Al-Fyed—Dodi’s father—was the owner of Harrods until recently. He has
always maintained that there was more to their deaths than what the public has
been told, and in 1998—in fact, it was 12 April 1998, 14 years to the day
before EN and I saw it—he unveiled the first of two memorials dedicated to
Diana and Dodi within his store.
The memorial described above (and seen in the photo below)
features photos of the pair, as well as a pyramidal container holding a wine
glass that is—allegedly—smudged with Diana's lipstick because she used it at
her last meal, as well as an engagement ring Dodi reportedly bought the day
before their death.
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| The memorial. |
After cruising around Harrods' world-famous food court, and
through the wonderful housewares section (where they were playing the theme from Twin Peaks), we bid adieu to
heavenly Harrods, and continued walking east.
Our next top was another famous shop: Harvey Nichols. I have to admit that I expected something a bit more, especially given its
reputation on Absolutely Fabulous. It
actually reminded me a bit (in terms of physical layout and the style of clothing) of the Bloomingdales that used to be in White Flint
mall back home. That being said, I can totally see why it’s the perfect go-to
story for the Pats and Eddy characters—in fact, the mannequins all looked
remarkably like Eddy!
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| So this isn't a mannequin--but it is a Harvey Nichs ad! |
Having poked around two upmarket shops since our last taste
caffeine boost, EN and I headed out and made our way to LJ’s, and enjoyed an
Americano and White Hot Chocolate, respectively.
It was the perfect ending to what turned out to be—after a
lackluster start—quite a fun day!
