Day 9 (part 2)- Oxford Street, Selfridges and Mayfair Chippy (Sept. 24th)

I became fascinated with Oxford Street when I watched a documentary about Harry Gordon Selfridge. I later watched the series on PBS "Mr. Selfridge". 

Harry was an American-British man who founded the department store bearing his name. He led the store for 20 years and became very respected in retail industry and also very rich. When he opened his store, the Oxford area was quite unpopular for a retail store. Nowadays, Oxford Street is Europe's busiest shopping street and much of the credit can be given to Harry Selfridge. He was known for forward thinking and really shook up the retail world in London. He promoted the crazy idea that ladies might like to shop for pleasure rather that out of necessity. His store was elegant, his staff helpful and goods were easily accessible to customers. He promoted his store with unique advertising and revolutionized the idea of window displays. Today, many stores carry on his ideas for marketing and salesmanship, using his phrases, "Only______ shopping days until Christmas" and "The customer is always right" (this phrase is credited to him or to Marshall Field).

Enough about the man though, let's talk about the store. It was massive! I spent several years working in a large department store with four levels and Selfridges makes that store look tiny. This store is the 2nd largest store in the UK (we will be visiting the 1st largest in the next blog post). 

Front entrance of Selfridges

We left Austin mesmerized in the electronics department (which took up most of the lower level) and took a tour around the store. The displays were amazing, and it was staggering to see how merchandise this store has. So many choices! I can see how it would break the bank to spend too much time in this store. Thankfully, we weren't too tempted as we didn't have much room in our backpacks for souvenirs. Well, Eric might have been a little tempted in the Gin department :)

That's a lot of Gin!

Champagne anyone?

Window display

There was even a huge candy department with cases of delicious looking macarons and other delectable treats. By this time, Jen and Chris had caught back up with us and we decided to try a few macarons. 

So delicious!

After tracking down Austin (still wandering around the electronics department), we parted ways with Jen and Chris again as they had eaten dinner and were ready to head back to their room for some R&R. Eric, Austin and I left the store and headed down Oxford Street in search of something to eat. 

It was getting a dark out and we had no idea what was in the area so we were using Google to help find a good place to eat. As we were walking along, I happened to spot a sign for the Mayfair Chippy and it said it was just a short walk down a side street. I recognized the name from some of my planning as to being one of the top places to get fish and chips!! YAY! So of course, that ended our Google search as we headed to the Chippy. 

It was a very cozy place but there were a few empty tables so we headed inside and asked for a table. The person behind the counter said "Do you have a reservation"? Uh, no :(  Apparently lots of others did, but all was not lost as she asked if we would be alright sitting at a counter by the window. But of course, for real London fish and chips, you betcha!!

Austin decided to order Scotch Eggs. I would not usually eat Scotch Eggs because the only meat that I eat is seafood, but since I had never tried them and, well, we're in London, I decided to have a bite. Delicious!! I might need to learn to make these for Eric and the boys.  

And then on to the Fish and Chips! Now mind you, we live on the Oregon Coast. We have eaten a lot of fish and chips...but these were the best fish and chips we've ever had. We had haddock and cod and both were amazing! The perfect amount of batter, crispy and not greasy, oh so good!!

I would highly recommend to anyone traveling to London and has the time to make a reservation for dinner at the Mayfair Chippy. 

After our long day at the Tower. Selfridges and Oxford Street, it was time to head back to the room and rest up for our last day in London. Since we were too far to walk back to the room, we decided to catch the bus. Austin suggested we ride up on the second level. Good call, Austin!

Taking a ride on the Double Decker bus!