England and Scotland for fun
Day 4 - Tuesday, April 26 -
England
Tuesday morning, more rain, rain, rainy rain
rain. Slept in a little, took a bath in F's glorious bath (about
5 feet long, so you can stretch out) (must ask what Italian soap is)
Took off for an "easy" day of shopping, penny
smashing, and catching the British Museum.
Picked up the tube at Sloane Square (after telling
the most adorable young man - blonde brownish hair and totally blue
eyes - that I didn't have time to take his survey, as I needed all the
time I could get to be lost today, which made him laugh and smile at me
with adoration), decided to go to Buck House first, got to St James
station and the nicest attendant there gave me perfect easy directions
straight out the station, down the little street, across St James Park
(beautiful tulips and snap dragon beds, HUGE storks being fed by a
brave or stupid teenaged German student girl, lovely ducks, too many
foreign school children and people with cameras while I'm jockeying for
position with the umbrella around all the other umbrellas -- but so
strange to see the giant Eye ferris wheel towering in the sky behind me
over the trees). Walked around to the Queen's Gallery for
the gift shop -- very tasteful, of course, like the upstairs ladies'
floor in a fine department store. Jewelry, china, nearly gawdy
gold-cloth make-up etc bags with gold crown zipper latches, walls of
postcards of the members of the royal family from Harry all the way
back to sketches of ancestors (a single one of Diana), candies,
Christmas ornaments (bought a jewelled crown one, which kinda looks
like one of those air fresheners on the dashboard of a lowrider).
On the way out, checked with a lovely cashier guy
for directions to mystery penny smashing location on Westminster Bridge
called Namco something County Hall in the Riverside Buildings (on my
internet website list). He found it on the A-Z map book Francesca
loaned me (that so far only other people have been able to use -- I'm
no good at all with maps, and Francesca insisted I take a BOOK of them
with me), pointing a completely unknown area to me across the river and
south of the city that I'm used to and suggested the Lambeth station
(which I've never heard of) if I'm going to take the tube, which I did.
So I take two trains to the Lambeth station, and
wait and wait to ask the ticket guy there if he's heard of this
building (and telling myself if he hasn't, I'm getting back on the
train and running back to the city). He refers to it only as the
County Hall and says sure, and directs me down the street, through the
roundabout, and a building over (and just ask someone there, they'll
know). So a few blocks of mystery buildings and directions
from people later - and a clear view of Big Ben annoyingly close once I
get there but I try not to think about that - I'm finally entering what
says it's County Hall on the building, and ask an accented (I think
French) young woman if she can help me at all. She looks at
the name and says, oh, yeah, Namco's all the way down that hallway and
to the left, I can't miss it.
So I travel down the huge building's length of
hallway, passing more and more "Oriental"-specific dance room and
dining room and tea room, etc, and -- ta-da! I see the penny
smasher just outside the door of the crazy amusement room. I wait
for an Asian woman to smash some pennies, then she leaves and I begin
to smash some, then she reappears with her husband and they're sorting
through their change for the proper 50p and penny coins, and I step
aside (much "go ahead, please" and their broken English accented "no,
no, no" etc), and he begins smashing them while I get my change
together, she tells me "three more, only" and I assure them noooooo
problem! Take your time. (As I support anyone who
supports penny smashers.) So they leave, and I finish up.
Only an hour before I'm supposed to meet Francesca
(no British Museum at this rate), so I step into the amusement room and
ask a man working there where the closest tube station (because there's
got to be one closer to Big Ben where I am than that Nambeth thing) and
he says Westminster's just across the bridge across the street there.
AIGH!!! Westminster Station is the next one
west over from the St. James (Buckingham Palace) station, and when I
left Buckingham Palace, I went a couple of stations east and then
changed trains and a couple more stations south -- I went into a big
circle and killed WAY too much time for nothing! Then --
THEN -- when I stepped out of the amusement room and penny smashing
machine, I looked at the next room over, and it was the GIFT SHOP OF
THE LONDON AQUARIUM, where I'd been on Sunday smashing my first
penny. If I'd only known, I could have gotten there in 10
minutes, instead of 45.
Ah, well.
When I got on my Piccadilly line train (after a long
walk through the convoluted station - and got on the train going in the
wrong direction and got off at the next station and waited for the next
train and got on it), I sat exhausted in the rocking train, deciding
that when I met Francesca at Harrod's at 3, we'd have tea
there. And scones. Tea and scones at Harrod's -- that
would make up for the last hour. Looked at my watch -- it was
past two, so little time in Covent Garden before having to get on the
train to Harrod's.
Covent Gardens was a blur -- walk, walk, walk, ask
directions to a few people for the London Transit Museum (gift shop for
a replica of the wood-block-looking posters I'd seen on the trains),
got there, not much of a selection and they were out of the one I
wanted, then back to the station and CORRECT Piccadilly train to
Knightsbridge for Harrod's -- where Francesca was NOT waiting on me
even though I was 5 minutes late, because she was 6 minutes
late. Perfect!
So we go in and immediately hit the loo, grabbed a
cup of water from the only water fountain I've ever seen in England,
and then arrived at the dressing circle cafe, where Francesca wouldn't
even have water she was so full from lunch. I had smoked salmon
ribbons with capers and potato salad, and of course a fruit scone (HUGE
and fluffy) with Harrod's label raspberry jam and clotted
cream. And a pot of tea. MMmmmm....
Then off for a quick glance at the Egyptian Hall
(decorated that way -- the merchandise is the same as the rest of the
store), and the food hall, which I just love, and wandered and looked
and wandered, and a couple of children wearing Krispy Kreme paper hats
ran by me and I said, Hey?! and Francesca said, "We have a Krispy Kreme
here, did you know that? The only one in England..." and I nearly
screamed! Then remembered, yes, I had read that -- where is
it? And she walked me over to the other side of the food hall,
and there it was, Krispy Kreme in all its Southern glory, the familiar
green and red logo and people happily working behind the
glassed-counter (with the dark green and gold Harrod's signature to the
side), and, of course, a bunch of people lined up. We got
in line -- I've had one in Los Angeles and Seattle, so of course I had
to have one in London -- and then, miraculously (according to
Francesca, who'd never seen it before) the women behind the counter
began asking people in line "Would you like a sample?" and handing out
entire doughnuts for a sample. Of course Francesca took one
and handed it to me -- soooo delicious and perfectly sugared and warm
and soft -- and that's it, we walked away because I only wanted one,
Francesca still marvelling that I'd even gotten it for FREE!
After that, we picked up a Harrod's box of rose
Turkish Delights for me and the family, and began to leave -- until
Francesca asked if I'd seen the monument Dodi's father has put up for
Dodi and Princess Diana. OOoooo -- no, where is it?
Francesca practically rolled her eyes and definitely nodded, that, yes,
she knew I'd want to see it (aw, come on, you have to see THAT), and I
said well, yeah, I'd read about it and couldn't imagine it in a
department store. So we took the escalators down, and there it
was at the bottom of the escalators -- two large single Diana and Dodi
oval portraits linked together, with something in cases below them, and
surrounded with fresh lilies, everything shining brightly.
Not in the best taste and definitely awkward. I wanted a closer
look, and Francesca said she was just going to step over there until I
was finished (I couldn't blame her -- there were people taking pictures
and video and looking all solemn, and ugh). So I went over
and read the engraved marble below it that said that as evidence that
these two truly loved each other, here is a wine glass untouched since
their last dinner together that fateful night at the Paris Ritz, and
the engagement ring Dodi was going to give Diana. I looked
up, and, yes, with the lights shining fully on them in the separate but
seemingly interlocking glass cases were the smudged wine glass and that
incredible diamond ring. Pretty ghastly.
Then it was off to Harvey Nichols, where we wandered
around the cologne department on the first floor. Francesca
pointed out Roger's favorite cologne, and it was niiiice. Then
she sprayed some of the orange on her and it was VERY
nice.
Then we hit the fifth floor where the "groceries"
were, and the restaurant that Patsy and Eddie eat at in AbFab so I could see what they were
talking about, and TONS of Harvey Nic's branded foods, and I got a 45p
small bottle of jam, and the fun black cashier very nicely gave me
extra pennies in my change and was the first to ask what I'd do with
them - I showed her a smashed penny from my day's outing, and she and
her coworker said that was great. A quick glance at the
restaurant cafe next to the cash register - just plain tables, but a
sushi conveyor belt at the bar, etc - and almost out the door. As
I was walking away, I picked up a HN catalog, and a few steps away
Francesca said, "You have to pay for that." I said, wha'? She
said "Two pound fifty - that's what the sign said." I was
confused that it would cost AND that the woman didn't say anything, so
Francesca said the woman didn't say anything, so take it, and as we
walked out the door, I said, "I just shoplifted from Harvey Nicols!" "I
know! AND you got a FREE KRISPY KREME!" "I'm having the coolest day!"
Then back to the flat where we passed out for an
hour (Francesca told me she was disappointed with the choice of pope,
hoping they'd go for more liberal while this guy had written a lot of
things endorsed by JPII, so nothing will change, but he's old and this
is transitory pope, and she's considering buying a flat screen tv and
debating where to put it...), then out to the grocery store for some
Cadbury chocolate, but I decided to get it in Scotland where I won't
have to carry it (again with the eye - "You made us walk allll the
way..." and then she went shopping for things she needed), and I wound
up getting some Twinings Rose tea and a bag of lamb in mint sauce
potato chips (they've really come a long way from the catsup flavored
ones from my first visit to London).
Then home to pack for Edinburgh -- which took ages,
and boy oh boy, am I screwed because I've got another week of stuff and
shopping before packing for getting on the plane -- and I'm almost at
my max NOW!
2 a.m. - must stop writing and go to sleep...
(except that I realized I packed my pajamas, so I'll be sleeping in
Eddie Bauer long sleeved shirt tonight.... zzzzzzz...)
England and
Scotland for fun
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