| sonia |
Oct 10th, 2002 10:52 AM |
Have to add my 2 cents here. <BR><BR>Way back in the 60's when I was a college student in London, where I grew up, I took a summer job at Harrods. Their summer sale was in July: the store windows were full of tempting merchandise with eye-popping markdown prices, and folks would sometimes sleep on the sidewalk the night before the sale, to get first dibs on the best buys. <BR><BR>I was assigned to work in the Fine China dept on third floor. Day one of the sale we all lined up next to the tables piled with stacks of marked down bone china, our invoice pads clutched tight (no calculators or computer-based registers in that distant era.)<BR><BR>At 9 o'clock sharp the dept manager looked at his watch. "They're coming!" he announced, and a few seconds later you could hear the sound of feet running up the escalators. A wave of people (many bargain-hunting Americans) surged into the area and started collecting stacks of cups, plates, whatever. We hand-wrote and head-calculated the invoices, made shipping arrangements, divided up lots into US customs-friendly sizes. A week of total craziness, but lots of fun and very memorable. Best part of the china dept was our proximity via the back stairs to the Food Hall and Flower Hall -- cool tile, beautiful displays, fragrant and delicious smells.<BR><BR>No, Chris, it's nothing like Macy's. You could scurry through in an hour, but why not spend more time and enjoy the experience? Have a shoppping day -- enjoy Knightsbridge with the boutiques, Harvey Nichols, Sloane Street. Can't spend all your time in the museums, not if you want to get the feel of the city. I live in the US now, but I'll be back in London for a visit myself in a couple of weeks. <BR><BR><caveat> YMMV: Harrods could be a whole different thing now, different store with newer owners. </caveat><BR><BR>Have a great trip!<BR>
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