London day 6: shopping

Friday

Did you know that there are huge crowds of people in London? Many of them were on the streets and in the stores with us as we enjoyed The Shopping Experience today. First, Piccadilly Circus and Eros:

and high on the corner of a nearby building, some lovely golden divers:

Regent Street has a lot of old traditional stores, and some are clearly trying to keep up with the times. At Austin Reed, one display window had mannequins in business suits on surfboards, with their ties and jackets flying in the imaginary sea breeze. Even better were these casually-dressed one-percenters on a vehicle I've heard about but can't even name:

We continued to Hamley's, an almost manic toy store, with kiddie music playing everywhere and many young staffers in red tshirts demonstrating the toys:

Down the hallway marked "Toilets -- best seats in the house," Dan found what may be a unique loo:

Ending the sensory assault, we returned to the street and went to Liberty, which is much more than the fabric store that I somehow had in my mind (Jane Austen's Britex). In the Scarf Room, I could have bought a beautiful heavy Italian silk scarf at half price, only 79 pounds. Using a simple 1.5 multiple for the conversion to dollars, I decided not to. But the room is wonderful . . .

and the top of that Mayday pole is just as lovely:

After leaving Liberty, we turned onto Oxford Street and continued past Selfridge's, which occupies the entire block and announces itself pretty seriously:

then we continued toward Harrods, also impressive from the street, even from blocks away:

Would Madame like to purchase a handbag? The faux Egyptian surroundings provide just the ambience of luxury that might encourage her:

And if that's simply de trop, perhaps the tea and coffee room is more to your plebeian tastes:

We visited other departments, feeling a bit sorry for the well-dressed salespeople who have to be polite to casual tourists. But we achieved our (well, my) goal of Having An Experience, and went home for another good meal at a local pub.