Sunday in London

Our weekend in Paris had been planned around sightseeing on the Saturday and relaxed shopping on the Sunday. I suppose “planned” isn’t the most apt descriptive for it, as it was more of a hastily agreed-upon schedule whilst en route mid-air rather than a well thought-out itinerary. We came somewhat unstuck when we hit the streets of Paris on the Sunday morning only to discover that nothing – nothing! – was open. At least eateries in Munich do business on Sundays, but in Paris not even that.

So London, as well as being about the food we didn’t eat in Paris, also became about the shopping we didn’t get to do in Paris. We stayed in a hotel off Oxford Street so were well-positioned for retail action, but not before a room service breakfast to get us going. Some fluffy waffles, rich hot chocolate and eggs Benedict with curiously browned Hollandaise sauce later, and we made our way to Selfridges.


Of course there were many levels of clothing, shoes and other things I would’ve liked to have had the time to browse, but the one department I absolutely had to see was their Food Hall.


A well-stocked supermarket with deli, salad, sushi and sandwich counters could be found with further specialty areas further up the back. Several chocolate and lolly brands had retail corners and kiosks, as well as this:


Another chance to try Pierre Hermé macarons? Mais bien sûr! I got to spend quite some time to consider flavours choices, as payment could not be taken until 12 noon due to industrial trade laws. I narrowed it down to a chocolate and caramel, as well as the “Infiniment vanilla” with vanillas from Tahiti, Mexico and Madagascar.


Our next stop was Harrods and, while I knew that it was big, I hadn’t been quite prepared for it to be so big – it’s like a casino resort without the hotel rooms and casino part. Harrods has its own themed merchandise gift store – you know, where people get the signature thick, plastic carry bags with the cute terrier/teddy bear – but also its own restaurant, café and ice-cream parlour. It’s definitely up the posh end of the scale, with lots of pricey branded merchandise and even a department devoted to (expensive) petwear and accessories. But it’s their beautiful food hall I’ve come here to admire, with their vast selection of teas, deli smallgoods, cakes, pastries, fresh fruit and more – it’s like the David Jones’ Food Hall on steroids.


Stopping in at Harrods also provided an opportunity to revisit a certain pastel green store...


With cooler weather in London and a bit more time on our hands, I finally got a chance to grab a madeleine (lemony), éclair (crisp choux pastry) and Mont Blanc (how I love squiggles of chestnut cream) as well as another round of their macarons. Salted caramel and pistachio were revisited, being our favourites from Paris, while we also gave coffee (loved the intense aroma), orange blossom, red fruits, and rose (not overly floral, thank goodness) a try as well. Needless to say, can’t wait for Ladurée to open in Sydney!


Then it was off to the airport to head back to Munich, but not before grabbing a snack to have on the plane. A quick nip into Pret a Manger provided us with smoked salmon and roast beef sandwiches – two protein types which are mostly missing from Bavarian diets!

happy eating!

16 comments:

  1. Pret a Manger was everywhere in London. I loved it, it was such easy access to fresh sandwiches. Oh I was gobsmacked by how huge Harrod's was. I could have spent days in there! Seems like you saw and ate heaps on your one day in london! x

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    1. I reckon I could spent at least a couple of days wandering through Harrods and/or eat my way through their Food Hall =p

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  2. This makes me realise how lucky we are here with Sunday trading. But the range of food in London makes the wait worthwhile. Love your photos, it's like being there!

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    1. Who knew we were so forward with our Sunday trading, eh?

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  3. Oh yum! That looks like it would be a perfect Sunday anywhere in the world!

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    1. I would've preferred a less frenetic pace but the food and places were well worth it!

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  4. What a lovely Sunday! I would love to visit London one day!

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  5. Those are some cute room-service waffles! The food hall in Harrods looks like absolute heaven!

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    1. Round waffles with a disproportionately large jug of maple syrup!

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  6. I have visited Harrods many times over my life. I have two distinct salivating of the food hall. First was when I was about 14, and they had a tower of every candy stick (rock) flavour you could imagine, I think I bought like 16 sticks which were consumed during the rest of our trip throughout Europe. Second was my latest visit and I checked out the foie gras, omg, so many types and I wanted to buy all of them!

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    1. There were hordes of people about but it was so good being able to wander through the different "rooms" of the food hall...and wanting to buy it all =p

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  7. What a wonderful holiday and seeing Harrods and Selfridges is somewhat quintessential London, good on you! And really, nothing was open in Paris on Sunday? Wow.

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    1. Perhaps not quintessential for some, but a must for people like us who love food!

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  8. Some great tips for the next eating trip to London. Great post. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. oooh! Was that a madeline I just spotted?! I go weak for these babaaays! Gosh, this trip of yours is makin me hungry indeed...LOL

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