The Other Half

Today I learned a little about how the other half lives.  After touring Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, our group stopped for High Tea at the Orangery.  The Orangery sits on the grounds of Kensington Palace, you know, William and Kate's new home.  Although some work is being done to the Palace to get it ready for the newlyweds, the grounds and gardens are at their full summer glory.  The Orangery is a beautiful building with a terrace and large windows, perfect for an afternoon tea.  Here are some of the highlights of a traditional English High Tea.  You get a tiered stand with three plates of food, and of course, tea.  You eat from the bottom plate up, so the sandwiches come first, then the scone, and finally, dessert.  Today we had little sandwiches with cucumber, ham, or salmon; the scone was made with raisins, and the desserts were a small chocolate cake and an apricot tart - all quite delicious.  With a little milk and sugar to make it more like coffee, the tea was delightful as well :)

On the advice of others, I stopped for a little look around at Harrod's on the way home.  I honestly thought Harrod's was a large, upscale shopping mall.  After twenty minutes and a lot of questions, Theresa finally enlightened me that Harrod's is actually one department store!  What a place...and the reason for the title of this blog.  Unless you are in the gift shop, this is certainly a store for "the other half".  This store has the best of everything and the price tags to prove it.  I was most impressed by the food halls, where you can get anything your heart and stomach desire.