If I was a rich girl... I'd have all the money in the world...

After the British Library, I had a little girly day in Knightsbridge (in London). First, I went to Harrods, which I hadn't actually been to yet. I just wandered around for a bit, hitting up all the floors. They have a ton of restaurants and places to eat, like Harrods Café (where they have afternoon tea for £9, which I would totally do if we had more time, but as of now I think we only have time for tea one more time and we want to do it up a little more), a sushi bar, and a bunch of others I didn't really look at.

The one I did stop at was the Chocolate Bar (uh, of course). I almost didn't make it there because in the room where they sell the tea (not the café; you don't sit and drink it there) they had all of these amazing looking chocolates and pastries and some yummy looking cupcakes (God, I could go for a cupcake). I'm glad I decided to wait and think about getting anything there, because the Chocolate Bar was amazing. I brought my book and read while I ate, so I felt like I just live here, not like I'm a long-term tourist. I ordered this amazing soft, buttery chocolate cake with white chocolate ice cream (I don't usually like white chocolate, but this was just... mmmm....), but I wasn't sure about getting hot chocolate too. The waiter was really nice and brought me an espresso cup with a mini serving of the cinnamon hot chocolate, which was pretty interesting.

I also needed to actually buy something at Harrod's, just for the sake of getting something (which I wouldn't normally do, but this is a touristy experience in its own), so I got an eye shadow from the MAC stand. This was pretty much one of the cheapest things you could even get there. The clothes are all designer, the make-up is mostly high-end, and even the items in the stationary department were pricey (a tiny address book with "Lovers and Other Strangers" written on the front was something like £14, or $20). They have a gift shop, but nothing was worth getting and the keychains were only about £3 less than my eyeshadow. So it was a totally justified purchase.

My next stop was Harvey Nichols, which is too high end to have a gift shop. Actually, I said that a little sardonically, but it's true -- Harvey Nick's isn't the "tourist spot" that Harrods is. This made it even harder to find something I could afford, because the only things in my price range were about three cosmetics/beauty lines. It's just a very ritzy place, and I might have had a little more fun walking around if i didn't feel so out of place by the way I was dressed (I kind of felt like this in Harrods, too, but it clearly wasn't bad enough to stop me from enjoying myself). It occurred to me on the walk over that I was wearing sneakers, and that probably wasn't the best idea, but I wasn't about to go home and change. Clearly one lady at the store though I should have; she gave my shoes a contemptuous look as I walked by. I thought this was kind of funny because she was in her 20s, and can't possibly be rolling in the dough working a retail job.

I looked in the stationary section here, too, but it was even worse. There was a cute little notebook for carrying around in your purse, something I do anyway in case ideas strike me, but it cost about £45. For a notebook.

I ended up getting some things by this body/beauty line called Soap & Glory, because the stuff all had funny names. The body scrub I got is called Scrub, Actually (like the movie Love Actually), but they also had cleverly named eye creams and a lip gloss called Sexy Mother Pucker.

Now, after I win the lottery/find a rich husband, I'll have to go back and have a little shopping spree. Chanel? Yes, please.