Jewels, Doggy Day Spas, and a Whole Lot of History!

Day 5: Sunday, March 18

Happy Mothering Sunday!  That’s right…today is the UK’s version of Mother’s Day.  Carmen and I made the most of it by buying fantastic cards with “mum” written on them!  To send to our fantastic mums back home!  Interesting note: there is no Father’s Day, Fathering Sunday, or anything like that over here.  No worry, dad, you’re still fantastic to me!

It was a bit cold, but I’ve found that my tights under the jeans concept is working out quite well for me!  Another side note about the fashion:  apparently London is experiencing some sort of heat wave (ha! They should come to Atlanta in July!), and everyone is running around like it’s the middle of summer time and they’re headed for the pools.  So little clothing and so many chilly days!  Can’t wait to see what the rest of the week will hold.  We decided to go to Harrod’s (Carmen had been earlier in the week before my arrival, but I still hadn’t gotten the experience yet).  For those who don’t know what Harrod’s is…the only way to describe it is some sort of Macy’s on crack!  7 stories of any and everything under the sun.  And none of it priced where anyone but the Queen, JK Rowling, and Posh and Becks (that is seriously what they are called over here… I love listening to the British talk…they make their names sound beautiful when they say them) could possibly afford anything.  Upon arrival, Carmen and I got a store map (seriously, it’s that big) and made our way to the jewelry department…of course!  We spent quite awhile gazing at jewels we will never be able to afford, but LOVED looking at anyway.  Cartier, Tiffany & Co., etc…you name it, they had a department.  We like to think we helped a guy (around our age!) pick out a beautiful engagement ring for his lucky lady at Tiffany & Co.  In reality, we probably just creeped him out staring over his shoulder and gasping at each ring he debated over.  You know he probably actually loved it! Ha ha.  There’s also a pet department with salon (including doggy treadmill, no joke) and £200 jewel encrusted dog collars.  The children’s department had £600 Dolce and Gabbana leather jackets in size 2T.  Can you even imagine?  The toy department was fantastic, with a great Harry Potter section.  Then we made our way out with, minds still spinning at everything in the store.  As you can probably guess, we did not make any purchases.

The Harrod Teddy Bears

I took this picture for Haley and her love of giraffes.  If you have £1,110 hanging around (about $1,700) this lovely giraffe could be yours too!

Next, we grabbed a quick lunch at Pret, a fantastic sandwich store where everything is made fresh daily and has TONS of options.  I’ve become obsessed with the chicken and avocado sandwich.  And the BEST salt and vinegar chips!  It’s like a Panera or Atlanta Bread, but MUCH more reasonably priced and quick to grab for on-the-go eating. 

The Front of the Victoria and Albert Museum

Then off to the Victoria and Albert Museum (named for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and opened since 1852!).  And once again, free!  Wow, we saw so much there, and like the British Museum, only made it through a small portion of the museum.  We took an hour guided tour through just the Britain part of the museum, and in my opinion, it is so much better than just walking aimlessly around wondering the history of so many of the items.  The preservation of everything is incredible.  For example, there is a room, and ENTIRE room, from a home (or what I consider a palace) of someone quite famous (sorry the name escapes me right now) with gold gilded paneling, including that from the ceiling.  They have completely restored it and made room for the whole room in one of the museum’s wings.  Amazing.  We saw some pretty jewels (give us a break, we’re girls and we can’t help it!), along with very fragile clay casts of some of the most famous statues (like Michaelangelo’s David) and tombs that have made their way here over the years.  Also, I have always been intrigued by Books of Hours, which are old prayers books from the Medieval Ages and are often illuminated with jewels and gemstones on the front covers (for those interested: my favorite book is the novel, The Book of Hours, by T. Davis Bunn, which is a mystery/romance/Christian fiction, and I have lent out to over a dozen people over the years, but if it hasn’t made it to you, please let me know and I’ll make sure you get it!  It’s how I first learned about what Books of Hours are.)  Carmen and I love history, so we were quite big fans of the museum.  After finishing up at the Victoria and Albert, we headed out and I got to see Big Ben, Parliament, the London Eye, and we wandered and ended back up at Trafalgar Square before heading home.  A very eventful day!

An Illuminated Copy of The Book of Hours.  Beautiful.