J and K Adventures: Friday and Saturday July 18 and 19--Hotness, Harrods and Hyde Park

The weather forecast was for increasingly hot weather--in the low 30's C (meaning over 90 degrees F.) which is rare in London. We felt the beginning of the hot temperatures as we finished our tour of Kew Gardens on Thursday. Friday it was hot and we were very tired after our long walks on Thursday and attempting to sleep in the oven we called a room. So we decided to stay in air conditioning and at Jeff's suggestion, went downtown to Harrods Department Store. This store is one of the biggest and most famous in the world. I, mistakenly, thought it was a place where you could actually shop and purchase something, but it has only the most expensive items of every description that are available in the world. All the biggest names that you see in the pages of Glamor or GQ magazines are there.

At the Underground station. Here comes the train.

On the street to Harrods--It's the store with all the flags.

Street Performer--He (or she) head stands in a bucket--Don't ask me how.

In front of the Gucci counter

We walked through the store, getting immediately lost and roaming from one area to the next. It was hard to take in. There were Dyson vacuums and fans, minks, formal gowns that cost more than I make in a year, $10,000 Dali prints, Cuban cigars, $500 bottles of wine, china, crystal, jewelry and watches fit for a middle eastern oil sheik, a bookstore that had coffee table books more expensive than my coffee table.....you get the picture. I finally found the plus size women's area (regular sizes only went to a 12) and tried on a dress from the "sale" rack just so I could see the inside of the dressing room. Even the powder rooms were lush. It was a pleasure to relieve myself.

Sorry not my size (or budget)

Now that's a heel......Jimmy Choo

Many little minks gave their lives

Regularly L500 (500 pounds) reduced to L100 (that's $200 to you and me). It won't be hanging in my closet!

After wandering for what seemed like hours, we were starting to get hungry. So we went looking for the food court. It consisted of several different sections---meat, fish, pasta, caviar, etc. In one section, you chose your cut of meat and it was cooked to your order. We took a look at the prices, gasped, found our way outside and spied a restaurant across the street with a more reasonable menu. But Jeff had to take a picture of the meat case.

Beaver and Duck Alligator bags (real alligator)

After wandering in Harrods for another half hour or so, we took the tube back to the President and took our naps and showers. We had tickets to a show of 4 comedians at the Comedy Store in Piccadilly Circus. We tubed back to the West End and found our seats next to a couple of nice gentlemen; cousins from Glasgow and Salsbury. They were really friendly and buying their beers two at a time. We had dinner and beverages and laughed our asses off! The MC and all the comedians were great! My favorite joke cannot be told to a family audience, but trust me, it was really funny. After the show was over, we walked to Leciester Square and had ice cream, then tubed back home to bed.

Saturday:
We got a late start, feeling a bit lazy, sore or tired - you can take your pick. After Kat watched some of "The Open" (in real time no less) we tubed over to Hyde Park and the first thing I noticed (hard not to) were 15 to 20 police vehicles and helicopters circling the sky. Turns out, a large group of folks, mainly Muslims were protesting against Israel's bombing of Gaza. Lots of folks wandering around carrying placards, some noisy, others, just chatting with one another.

Now not to go into a political rant but this was upsetting to me - always easy to try to put Israel's feet to the fire. I wanted to take some of these folks aside and ask them the question, are you also going to protest the Hamas or whoever is shooting rockets into Israel and killing folks there? Will you mourn the Israeli's being killed or do you only have tears for the people of Gaza. Killing is killing, none of it good and never a solution to a problem. Kat was steadfast in her opposition to me engaging these folks in rational conversation so...I buttoned up my collar to hide my mezouzah and we tried to blend and become one with the throngs, just out for a sunny stroll.

And stroll we did, past wonderous beds of flowers, children romping barefoot through the grass, young lovers hand in hand, thousands of birds hoping to score a dropped crumb or chip, all sorts of boats floating across the serene waters of "The Serpentine", sunbathers enjoying a rare day in London, squirrels scampering for the peanut tossed by a giggling 3 year old with eyes as large as saucers and a smile that could stop traffic. It was amazing to walk and hear all the passing accents and styles of dress. We met people from Australia, Norway, Sweden, Japan, S. Africa and all points within. Our consciousness is being raised on a daily basis as we learn of new ideas, values and ways of living. This has been a wonderful opportunity for us. We both are people persons, open to it all.

As you may conclude, we had a enchanting time on our 3 mile stroll through the park. We stopped in a pub for some solid English food and then made our way back to the tube and our hotel for a well earned rest