Day 12: Shopping til I drop (pretty much literally)

So despite the extreme weakness of the dollar compared to the pound (a fact I am constantly aware of) London just has too much to offer for me not to go out shopping once in awhile. As predicted my book collection is steadily growing- and I haven't even gotten my reading list yet! This weekend I experienced two iconic London shopping experiences, which couldn't be more different from each other.
Friday afternoon me and the ladies went down to Harrods- the greatest department story on earth. I'm sure you all have heard of Harrods, it is the largest, most expensive, least practical store you will ever see in your life. They sell everything. Clothes, furniture, toys, tv, live animals, there is even an entire supermarket in there. Nobody actually shops there but it is a huge tourist attraction. It is incredibly opulent, this is a picture of the Egyptian Hall, the main entrance way. We spent a good three hours waundering around the story and marveling at everything they had. I didn't buy of course but we did purchase a creme brulee from one of the bakeries to split three ways. It tasted like luxury.

Today to even things out we went down to Notting Hill and the Portabello Road Market. Again I bet most of you have heard of Notting Hill, at least from the movie. I didn't get to see all of it because it was kind of rainy but the Portabello Road Market was amazing. Picture booths set up for essentially miles selling produce, sweets, clothings, jewerly and knick knacks. We spent 4 hours there and didnt even make it halfway through the mass of stalls. It was so exciting looking over the tables full of old books, mismatched tea cups, scarves, antique brooches, earrings, bags, stamps, watches etc. I will definatly be going back there. In fact if you are expecting a Christmas present from me it will most likely be from there. Today I bought an amber ring for ten pounds and a pretty blue scarf for five pounds. Certainly much cheaper then Harrods! I also had a delicicous lemon and sugar crepe and saw the travel bookstore where Hugh Grant's character works in the movie Notting Hill. Haven't seen Hugh Grant yet but I am working on it...
I am so exhausted. All of this constant activity is wearing me down. I will almost be releived when class starts on Tuesday and I will have a chance to sit still for awhile!