Lifestyles of the rich and hairy

So we stopped by Harrods the other day as they had their annual sale on with lots of things 70%off and let’s face it, normal people can only afford Harrods stuff at 70-99%off.  We didn’t’ find anything exciting (read: cheap enough) but as we were about to leave I saw a sign for ‘Pet Kingdom’ and, like a kid in a toy store, I was off.

It was absolutely unbelievable (okay to be fair it should have been believable as Harrods sells a real life monopoly game with real British pounds as cash so a few fancy pet beds should be believable).   They had everything from dog beer to beds to fancy dress costumes to jewel studded leashes because seriously, if your owners are shopping in Harrods they obviously have some extra cash to quench your thirst for a brewski and understand your need for a little bling when out in the dog park.  Observe:

I did almost have one of those moments when you lie on the floor and kick your hands and feet and cry until your parents hubby buys you what you want because when I walked up to the live puppy area I saw that they had a Border Terrier for sale.  I immediately ran at the glass and pressed my nose up against it looking for my new bundle of cuteness only to find out it had been sold and that the area only contained hyper active daschunds..the hubby was lucky this time. Although, after seeing what Harrods was charging for them I think we might have to look for a second hand or irregular Border Terrier to fit within our budget.

You went where exactly?

We are back from the hubby’s birthday trip and for those of you just dying to know where we ended up…it was Malta.  If you aren’t sure where that is (like my brother in law).  It is a very small island just south of Sicily; it is the smallest of the EU countries in population and size (316km²). 

They are currently in the final days of switching from the Maltese Lira to the Euro however it seemed as though a lot of the shopkeepers were waiting to the last minute to get familiar with this new currency. On a number of occasions when we were given change they repeatedly flip the coins over then hand to see the value then hand us a bunch of change as if to say…’aaah that should be about right’. It also seems that they have all adopted a standard exchange rate (as I am sure with all EU countries who made the currency switch) and for now, all businesses are using the same rate…which is fair however you do end up some odd prices including bus fares which equated to 47 euro cents and meant that the bus drivers had to painstakingly hand back 3 euro cents to every passenger handing them 50 cents.

 

 

 

Anyway we really enjoyed the trip as the island has a lovely Mediterranean / Italian feel.  The food definitely had Italian influences but always included a number of fresh fish options which were absolutely delicious.   We travelled easily around on the city busses and got to see tons of museums and some of the most impressive cathedrals and ancient architecture we’ve ever seen. 

The only hiccup was getting dragged into an hour long timeshare presentation for an all inclusive spa hotel.  Interestingly enough when they say all inclusive they are not only talking about food, they have a deal with one of the local hospital and you can get everything done from  a nose job to  a new hip or a heart valve replacement! Incidentally it was only £2800 for a nose job and 8 nights hotel stay!  Luckily we left the property meeting with our own noses and 2 harbour cruise tickets which was the initial reason for sitting through the presentation…I blame the hubby, he will do just about anything to get out on a boat on a sunny day.

All in all we would definitely go back…probably next time in the summer, and maybe for a little cosmetic surgery….