Harrods, where I can’t even afford to breathe

The website says, “The Harrods name is synonymous with luxury, excellence and service. Visitors to our department store can expect to enjoy an exemplary level of care, outstanding personal service and a brand of magic experience only to be found at Harrods.”

Harrods is one of those places you hear and read about, that you want to visit just to see how the other half live, just to see if its as ridiculously opulent as you’ve heard.

Trust me, it is. It’s both opulent and ridiculous. It’s 7 floors of ridiculous opulence, too breathtaking for us mere mortals to even afford to browse in. I tried, and I failed to see it all. After just an hour, I was too punch-drunk on opulence-overload to take any more in!

I started in the food halls. Wow, they look like they’re unchanged since the store first opened in 1834. Here you’ll find a traditional cheesemongers, butchers, fishmongers, patisserie, fruit mongers, alongside a caviar store, a fish & chip shop, a steakhouse, and an oyster bar where patrons sit at counters eating their wares.

In the basement, I found myself staring at NZ$9,000 bottles of champagne then skulking past the Truffle and Cigar Lounge, with its smokey glass windows. On the next floor, I looked enviously and aghast in equal amounts at the rows upon rows and rooms upon rooms of multi-thousand dollar handbags.

I rode the indulgent Egyptian Escalator from ground to the top floor, my mouth gapping at the sheer trashiness of it, so out of place amongst all this wealth. On the 5th floor, I watched in fascination as stop assistants ran through Toy Kingdom playing with the latest toys, with groups of squealing children trailing after them like Pied Pipers.

It’s worth a visit. Even if all you do is browse and breath the air, as I did.

Here’s a few photographs I took while ogling the goods. You’ll find a few more in my London Summer 2017 Flickr Album (keyword search ‘Harrods’).