Knightsbridge

Katie, Lauren, Michael and I ventured over to Knightsbridge today. The weather was absolutely perfect and walking down Brompton Road gave me the familiar sense of awe that I’ve often experienced in my adventures here. Though largely commercial, Knightsbridge maintains its historic ambiance with small sidewalk cafes and shops woven into perfectly maintained Victorian facades. The beautifully commanding buildings that house the Natural History Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum side by side were our destination for the day. The V&A was commissioned by Queen Victoria and PrinceAlbert (surprise!) as a collection of artifacts, art and design displayed in a building equally as striking as its possessions. It was a goal that more than succeeded. Walking into the museum, visitors are greeted by a grand entrance, topped by an enormous and elaborately decorated dome and hung with a modern glass chandelier. The collections arearranged by wing and include Greek and Roman sculpture, Asian artifacts, architectural models, elaborate silver relics, jewelry, and (my personal favorite) costumes from some of the most famous theater and musical productions in history. The V & A costume wing is one of its most notable collections and includes the costumes from the Broadway production of The Lion King, Mick Jagger and Elton John’s stage outfits, and Juliet’s dress from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of the classic love story.

Victoria & Albert Museum

The ceramic stairwell inside the V&A.

After a long wander through the museum’s many wings, we headed to another imposing Victorian style building on Brompton Street – Harrods. The luxury department store is seven stories of designer clothes, shoes, luggage, home furnishings and more. It also features 30+ restaurants, from pizza to pate, and a gourmet food market. Needless to say, we walkedinto the store in absolute amazement at the sheer size and the formality of it all. We wandered around and drooled at a few things we knew we could never afford before stumbling upon something we could – the Harrod’s Chocolate Bar. Hidden deep inside the store, it was the best surprise yet. Between the four of us, we split the Harrod’s sundae, which included four scoops of ice cream, a brownie, a cookie, caramel, hot fudge and whipped cream. It was served in a bowl about the size of my head and was daunting, to say the least. Of course we polished it off in no time and left stuffed to the brim with deliciousness.

Harrod's on Brompton Street.

Ice cream sundae!

Harrod’s Chocolate Bar is a definite repeat.

cheers,
kate.