Muttrox Goes to England: Harrods is Amazing

Harrods is amazing. We ended up going three separate times. We thought it was just a big department store and could not understand the appeal. Boy, were we wrong! It was incredible. They claim they can get you anything that is for sale in the world in 48 hours. We believe it.

There was original art by Warhol, Picasso, and Chihuly. There were some silver sculptures we really liked by a sculptor named Lorenzo Quinn: A woman holding the earth with a ribbon, a man holding a woman with extended arms. We had wandered into that room because it was nearby another destination, a piano made from emeralds. Wow.

The toy room was wonderful. After two hours, we barely made it past the first section. It featured a “toy” sports car and Humvee that go 20 mph. They could be yours for a mere $40,000 each! The kids were shocked to hear that our two grown up cars put together were worth one of these.

The store is all about the experience; there are people everywhere demonstrating. They are extremely knowledgeable about their products, they are true experts. We met a magician who showed us light and card tricks. He told us there is another magician who works there who is truly famous in the magic world (we saw him later). We came to realize that every Hollywood movie with a magic toy shop is based on the wonder inspired in Harrods. Have you ever seen the movie Toys, or Mr. Magoriums Emporium? They both just start with Harrods and add a bit of real magic to the plot.

Ever the food court impressed, they had every kind of food you can imagine. I got caught double-dipping in the hummus. We had delicious pressed chicken tikka sandwiches on naan.

They had autographed works from presidents, kings, every celebrity imaginable, and a vintage Apple II signed by Steve Jobs ($150K). Other notables in the autograph section: A single frame with autographs of the first 20 presidents, all the Apollo 11 astronauts, and a King George writ.

The prices were crazy. Harrods has amazing selection and experience, but you sure pay for it. The boy asked me why Harrods had so much stuff that costs such huge amounts of money. “Here’s how it works. The world isn’t fair. There are a lot of people in this world who have too much money. Harrods is around to help solve that problem.”