Hey Maris, I finally got myself (and Cathy) down to Harrod's. It was almost like a museum anyway. What a place. I had forgotten. The food halls are still amazing. We stopped at the memorial to Dodi and Diana, with their photos and with the very large engagement ring that he was supposedly going to give her, as well as the unwashed wine glass that one of them had used the night they died. Creepy. We passed through the children's floor, half of which is devoted to toys, and saw the child's Hummer with its price cut in half, down to only 14,000 pounds. It takes real "petrol" and can go 30 miles per hour. Now why anyone would think it was a good idea to buy one for a child is beyond me, but apparently they sold one last week which was shipped by private jet to its new home in Israel. (We had a nice chat with a young employee who shared this with us.) We walked through their Room of Luxury 1 and Room of Luxury 2, and frankly it looked no different than the rest of the store. We passed through linens, fine china, the furniture floor, and, unfortunately for my nose, the perfumery twice. But we missed the whole top floor which is devoted to sports clothing and equipment, including the usual tennis and golf but also riding and saddlery. I saw a beautiful sweater for Gord (he shrunk the only one he brought with him by helping me out with the laundry one day!) but it was quite a bit more than the ring I bought yesterday (Oops! Did I say ring? Oh those darn silver vaults.) We had hot chocolate and split a chocolate dome dessert in the Chocolate Bar. I was going to take a picture but Cathy ate it before I could get my camera out (just kidding; I admit that I simply forgot until it was too late). So I took a photo of our empty plate and a photo of one on display. On the way out we saw the life size wax figure of Mohamed al Fayed, Harrod's owner and Dodi's father, as well as the statue of Dodi and Princess Diana.

From there we were on a mission to buy a particular item for Cathy's sister. We started on Oxford Street and ended up by the British Museum. Then we met Gord in the pouring rain outside Sir John Soane's Museum. They are open from 6-9 PM on the first Tuesday of every month, when it is lit by candlelight, as it would have been in his day. I thought this was a well-kept secret, but evidently not for there were about 100-125 people waiting with us. We were able to get in eventually, but I was disappointed for Cathy because it was difficult to see everything, especially the Hogarth paintings, in the dim light. Gord can go back and see it by day.

Cathy and I were pretty tired from our busy day yesterday, especially the climbing of the stairs. Actually Cathy got an early start today. She walked over to Kensington Palace first thing in the morning to tour it before we left for Harrod's, and she also walked in Kensington Gardens prior to that. I slept in and took it easy. So why I was so tired, I don't know.