THE POMP

Before I even give a recap of today’s activities let me say this – we are sleeping in a double bed with the HEAVIEST QUILT I have ever slept under. I mean seriously, it is no wonder we are wakeful during the night, mainly because the “weighted” quilt increases in its heaviness, and you have to be good and awake because it takes serious muscle to throw that monster off. Once this is accomplished, it is you and the sheet, and when my hot-bodied husband insists on the highest setting on the fan, I get cold and cover with the only option available–that large, ugly 20-pounder quilt. Anyways, thought you might relate to this or really feel sorry for me. Ha!

After said wakeful night (still jet-lagging), we dragged ourselves out of bed ONLY BECAUSE we envisioned a fresh, piping-hot, best-ever-coffee awaiting us right across the street. Definitely a kick-start to the fabulous day.

By way of a backdrop I have no shame in loving the Royal Family, and, as I have shared this with my mom (took her to the Lady Di Exhibit in Santa Monica), her interest has been piqued as well. So it was a no brainer to head out for Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards. Rick took videos of the guards coming into the courtyard to replace the existing guards and I was in front of the gate taking videos. TONS of people came out for the spectacle, but truly so worth the trek. Hopefully, mom will be able to view the videos and see some of what occurs during this sacred pomp and pageantry.

From there, we had to make the trip to Harrods Department store, which spans the city block. It is an EXCLUSIVE, grossly opulent store that is mega over-the-top, but as country bumpkins, we had to do a walk-through. Mainly, I wanted to see the Lady Di and Dodi’s statue display centered and spanning several levels of the 6 floors. Sadly, the monument had been removed with no explanation offered.

I also wanted to walk through the food bars . . . you cannot even imagine the offerings of every imaginable food item. It is an attack on your eyeballs which are working really hard to take it all in. There are rooms devoted to a single entity-like chocolate, or coffee. The chocolate room displayed an array of chocolate in every shape, size, and flavor. Also, in the deli room, I walked by a display case exhibiting the sandwich of the month. If I told you the sandwich roll was bedazzled with edible gold, would you even believe me? Well, it was and it was a sight to be seen! Needless to say, we gawked and left the scene. Strangely, no sales rep approached us to see if we needed any help with our shopping. Could have been the faded green canvas packs strapped to our backs with various straps going in all directions as we walked. Guess we just didn’t have the “proper” vibe! Ha!

When we left Harrods, we had put in almost 12 miles on our legs, so we stopped, bought a salad and sat on a city bench to replenish prior to trekking back to our hotel (ish).

Onward to Belgium tomorrow morning. More adventures around the corner!