To London, To London

well. here we are in London. and my reflections today are those, of a very tired woman.

One who didn't sleep much last night due to the fact that the chinese food most probably had MSG added and whose whole digestive system is in toxic shock from two months of eating mostly sugar and fat. one who is craving fresh organic salads, fresh juices and fresh summer fruits.

after driving to Reading to drop the car off.. and being told by the car hire guy to stay outside to keep an eye on our luggage.. then in a taxi to the station.. caught a train..

they even have first class on suburban trains. Like us going from Paramatta to Sydney, there is even a first class carriage and what seems to be one for lower classes. Joe and I made a spectacle of ourselves by getting into the upper class carriage and had to walk through to where we apparently belong

arrived at Piccadilly and caught a cab. to the motel. a cab driven by a very rude taxi driver. who didn't get a tip for his rudeness.

By this time, I was over the whole thing. I don't do cities very well at all. I am like a country mouse going to the city. And if one more person looks at my knitted pants, oddly, I am going to slap them hard. I don't fit in at all.

We arrived at our hotel in Earl's Court.. having booked before we left home.. given our key and told to go to the lift.. up to floor 1....and when we got to floor 1, we had to drag our luggage up a flight of stairs..thinking we had a superior room, we opened the door on to what amounted to a box with two single beds.. and a bathroom as big as a match box. I could feel my spirits flag... and I knew Joe was feeling the same way... we decided to go back down in the lift as big as a wardrobe and ask if we could upgrade.. thankfully they had a larger room, more modern and updated. I am not a snob, but for the last two nights, i want to be comfortable and settled.. not in a room like a cell.

so we went back to room #1 to get our luggage, back down the flight of stairs.. into the lift as big as a wardrobe with 4 pieces of luggage plus us.. up to floor 3, up a small flight of steps and into our room.

by this time, I wanted to just get the hell out of here and go for a walk.. thought we might walk to Harrods, to have a look but were told that it is a good 25 mins walk.. so we caught 'the tube.'

another experience. From Earls Court to Knightsbridge where Harrods is.. up and down escalators with signs everywhere..

and to Harrods...

a little overwhelming actually. Our first entrance took us into the 'Parfumery' and Joe said he felt like Mister Bean, no wonder he crawled through on his hands and knees trying to avoid being accosted by a multitude of perfume bottle wielding sales assistants....[not Joe, Mister Bean, although I think Joe would have done that if I had allowed him to]

the perfumes were overwhelming. Not sure why they think they need to be spraying toxic chemicals onto you as you walk past.. good old patchouli oil for me!

we wandered around, rather aimlessly in Harrods. We looked for the tea rooms... finally found them.. but a half hour wait for a table... couldn't be bothered waiting actually.

The store is so big. with room after room.. leading here and there and I felt as if it were truly overated.. all i wanted to buy was a Harrods bag. And of course, there is just not one style but many and I decided to walk out with nothing. I had to regather myself and go in with a list tomorrow.. for exactly what I needed - on a mission.

"SO, THAT WAS HARRODS?"

so, here we are in London for our second last night in England...

first impressions:

too busy. unfriendly. too many people.

Harrods: over rated.

tomorrow we have a hop on hop off bus trip around the city.. and to Harrods with shopping list in hot little hand.