The Food Halls at Harrods - But Do They Have Char Siu?

Within the same hall that includes the Fromagerie, is the Charcuterie and Traiteur sections. Charcuterie is defined as a store where pork products, hams and pates (a spread usually made of finely chopped liver) are sold. This includes a variety of sausages and biltongs (strips of dried meat). Traiteur is a fancy term for a delicatessen or caterer. Choose from a selection of caviar and terrines (an oblong molded dish served cold usually consisting of pressed meat, game, fish and/or vegetables). Harrods sells a Jambon Iberico Ham Sandwich for 15 British Pounds (US$30). The ham is not currently sold in the USA pending FDA approval. Harrods advertises it as a "cured leg of ham, from Guijelo, Spain, produced to century-old traditions. Made from the meat of free-ranging acorn-fed iberico pigs, cured naturally. With an astonishing sweet and complex flavour and a melting texture." Oh yeah, there is a Chinatown in London. Better you find char siu there.

Charcuterie Counter

Sausages

Traiteur Counter

Caviar

Biltongs

Terrines

The Food Halls at Harrods - Smile and Say "Fromage"

The fourth post about the Food Halls at Harrods is the room you'll probably roam into next. This Fromagerie, Charcuterie and Traiteur room will likely increase your French vocabulary by two or three words. Let's start with the fromage section. Fromage simply means cheese of which there are four main groups: sheep, cow, goat and blue. The most expensive cheese at Harrods is Truffle stuffed Brie priced at 69.90 British Pounds per kilo. That's alsmost $140 dollars U.S. for a little over 34 ounces.

Breath in these creamy views of the fromage bar and counter. The product in the last picture below are some of the velvety butters from Europe. Don't even mention the words Velveeta or Country Crock when roaming the varied selection.

Hope You Can't Hear Me Now

Here's a subject most of us wouldn't dare think about. But imagine going on a vacation in the U.S. where there is no cellphone signal for any wireless company network. Forbes LLC states that more than 230 million Americans, 75% of the population, use cellphones and made 2 trillion minutes worth of calls on them. A joint effort of Forbes and American Roamer, a company that makes coverage maps for wireless carriers, found large signal-free areas as well as small holes in the sum of all networks in places like national parks. They found that each of these places have stuff to do except chat on a cellphone. In the map above, the areas of white or lightest shades of blue is where there is zero or weak wireless reception.

So if you feel your significant other is married to their cell phone maybe it's time to divorce them from their phone and stop by one of the following places. Actually some of these are places many would consider visiting.

- Yakutat, Alaska (pictured right, a fishing town popular with visitors in the Gulf of Alaska surrounded by mountains, population 680).
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Yosemite National Park, California
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota
- Olympic National Park, Washington
- Sequoia National Forest, California (Only an hour's drive outside L.A. but with spotty coverage on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.)
- Baxter State Park, Maine
- Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
- Adirondack Mountains, New York
- Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Antelope Wells, New Mexico
- Pyramid Lake, Nevada (pictured below, located just outside of Reno; known for the pyramid rock formations and fishing)
- Round Spring Cavern, Missouri
- Great Salt Lake, Utah
- The Montana-Idaho Border
- Eastern Park County, Wyoming
- Tillamook County, Oregon
- Death Valley, California (National Park Service warns on their website "do not depend on a cellphone" in case of emergency.)
- Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming
- Andes, New York (About three hours northwest of Manhattan, the Catskill Mountains help to make it cellphone free.)

Just because there is no wireless service, the research showed there may be internet connection. For example, a lodge in Yakutat Alaska offers computers with internet access and a Wi-Fi router for guests toting laptops. But knowing how some people heavily depend on and are addicted to their cell phone, they may choose going without water rather than going without a cell phone.

The Food Halls at Harrods - No Starbucks Here

Every kind of coffee or tea (of course, this is England you know) can be found in this hall. The aroma that fills the area makes you wish for a hot cup right there and then. Can't decide, ask one of the uniformed clerks. Check out the unusual coffee bean dispenser (pictured at right). You won't find one like that at Starbucks. Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world next to water. Every British man, woman and child drinks nearly four cups of tea every day. India, however, produces the most tea in the world which are primarily the black tea varieties of Darjeeling (expensive when the product is 100% Darjeeling), Assam (an ingredient in Irish blend and goes best with milk), and Nilgiri (India's most famous and plentiful specialty black tea).

The Food Halls at Harrods - Sweet Thoughts

The Food Halls are located on the ground floor of the store. Most visitors arrive via the London tube at the Knightsbridge station. The organization of the store may seem maze-like but floorplan maps are available. Upon entering the doors closest to the Knightsbridge station, just keep walking forwards through a couple of halls filled with beauty/apothecary products and you'll find yourself in the Egyption Room. Unique and ornate products matching the room's theme is available here but make a left and you'll find one of the many entrances to the food halls. The entrances are unassuming but wait till you are inside the first of these ballroom-sized halls.


The first food hall you'll encounter is filled with fine chocolates & confectionery, exquisite celebration cakes and tins of teas and coffee from around the world. The Hopeful Traveler has a real sweet tooth and this place is pure heaven. The one thing that T.H.T. won't purchase here or anywhere else abroad: what else, chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Here is a sample of sweet images. By the way, the fruit and veggies pictured right below are all made out of marzipan (an almond & sugar confection).

One tip of advice when shopping at Harrods: if you're planning to charge your purchase the cashier may offer to charge your card in American dollars rather than in British Pounds. If the clerk cannot offer you the exchange rate at that time, you are probably safer charging in British Pounds and letting your credit card company apply their normal processing fee which is included in the percentage of the exchange rate.

The Food Halls at Harrods - Rooms for the Senses to Savour

The next few posts will be devoted to one of the Hopeful Traveler's favorite spots to visit in London: The Food Halls at Harrods Department Store. Harrods covers 4.5 acres with over one million square feet of selling space. The store has 40 elevators (or rather, "lifts") and over 12,000 lightbults on the famous terracotta facade, 300 of which are changed a day by the store's electrical engineers. Some say the store is pure "magic" making a visit to this store an experience to remember.

As a teaser, here are shots of the store's facade in evening. Stay tuned as the Hopeful Traveler reveals some delicious photos of the Food Halls next.

Year of a Million Dreams

All you Disney fans, be on the hunt for this print ad campaign that will surely make you want to return to the Magic Kingdom. To lure you to the parks for The Year of a Million Dreams campaign, Disney recruited famed photographer Annie Leibovitz to interpret some famous Disney fairy tales for print using the likes of a pop princess, an acclaimed actress and soccer stud. These are the first three photographs appearing in magazines (click on each photo for a high-resolution image to save as a desktop wallpaper; click 'back' on your internet browser to return to this page):

Actress Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella sporting a Harry Winston Tiara valued at $325,000 and an authentic glass slipper ("Where every Cinderella story comes true")


Soccer star David Beckham rides a white stallion as Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty ("Where imagination saves the day")


An Alice in Wonderland trio: Pop star Beyonce Knowles as Alice, country singer Lyle Lovett as the March Hare and actor Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter ("Where wonderland is your destiny")


In The Year of a Million Dreams promotion, Disney invites you to the Magic Kingdom where you may be able to live out your Disney dreams. Disney has previously announced that over a million extra-special dreams will be randomly awarded during the promotion. It's possible that a Disney cast member might tap you on the shoulder to invite you to be a special guest that night in the new Cinderella Castle Suite at Disney World or the new Mickey Mouse Penthouse at the Disneyland Hotel; you may receive a Dream Fastpass badge to enjoy Disney attractions with little or no wait; or you may have the chance to win a Grand Marshal World Tour trip to Disney parks around the world. The promotion ends Dec. 31, 2007. More info at www.mydisneyparks.com.

If you visit during the promotion you'll be among the first to experience the newest attractions and entertainment. Among them is the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage at Disneyland replacing the defunct submarine ride in Tomorrowland; and The Seas with Nemo & Friends at Disney World's Epcot updating "The Seas" pavilion where you cruise around in a clamobile alongside a giant aquarium.

The advertisements first appearence are in the March issues of Vogue, Vanity Fair, W, GQ, Conde Nast Traveller and The New Yorker. It's possible a total of ten or twelve different shots could be developed using the likes of Peter Pan and the Little Mermaid (to date no official announcement on additional print ads). Knowing Disney's benchmark for making an honest buck, they'd be smart to develop these advertisements as commercial prints. If that happens....pin traders beware of print traders.

The Terminal Playground: A Transit Lounge to Nowhere

Look at the image above (click on any of the photos for a close-up view; click back on your internet brower to return to the home page). Can you guess the airport terminal? In real life this terminal existed only for the filming of the Steven Spielberg directed movie "The Terminal". Tom Hanks stars as a stranded visitor in a NYC airport. The Hopeful Traveler watches this movie for the set as much as for the story. The attention to detail and production design makes one hope that this terminal really existed in contrast to the cramp and tired terminals that exist in reality.

The entire three-story set was built as a free-standing piece of real architecture in a massive hangar in California that was used to repair 747 airplanes. The set included 60,000 square feet of genuine granite flooring and most notable, four working escalators; the first built exclusively for a movie set. The movie set was a feasible alternative due to the security and time constraints of filming at a live working airport.

The more realistic aspects of the set were the 35 retailers within the terminal. Part of the fun is spotting these stores and restaurants all designed to the retailer's standards and with an inventory of actual products.

Try and watch the movie and spot these retailers:
- Duty Free, Verizon Wireless, Dean and Deluca, Discovery Store, Brookstone, Cambridge Sound Works, Hugo Boss, La Perla, Hudson News, Borders Books, Paul Mitchell, Godiva, Swatch, Harry and David's and Origins.

Around the food court of the movie set, looks for these eateries:
- Burger King, Auntie Anne's Pretzels, Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream, Baja Fresh, Panda Express, Nathan's Famous, Au Bon Pain, Yoshinoya, S'barro's, Krispy Kreme, The Daily Grill and Starbucks.

Among real airport service companies, you'll find American Express Foreign Exchange, Citibank (ATMs) and Smarte Carte.

The movie press materials state that some of the food outlets, such as Starbucks, were staffed by actual employees. Where extras minded the store, they were given training sessions as if they were actually working behind the counter. Interesting fact: All the retailers agreed to build replicas of their stores without knowlege of the role their shop may play in the film.

Adding to the realism were the main flight information board and monitors which displayed actual flight schedules from the International Terminal at JFK International Airport.

The most prominent airline featured in the film is United Airlines for which the character played by Catherine Zeta-Jones is a flight attendant. There are also a couple of prominent scenes on the third level of the set which is the UAL first-class lounge.

One thing that the set decorator had to be mindful off: Any of the magazines at the retailers or any extra was holding could not have the image of the stars, Zeta-Jones or Hanks. Obvsiously why would a flight attendant or a stranded visitor be on the front of People magazine.

Why does the Hopeful Traveler enjoy the film? The main character has a reason for visiting NYC. He has a realistic purpose and accomplished it in the end. But along the way he experiences an adventure and meets people he will never forget.


"The Terminal" (2004) is available on DVD from Dreamworks Video. A bonus disc featuring material about the making of the movie is available on the hard-to-find three-disc collector's edition. More info about the film including 3D Virtual Tours of the set can be found at www.theterminal-themovie.com. Photographs: Dreamworks

Plastic in the Air

Plastic will be invading the airline cabin. Plan on having at least one credit card accessible during your flight. Technology has made it easier for more airlines to accept credit and debit cards to pay for inflight services such as drinks and meals.

These airlines are currently cashless: Frontier Airlines, AirTran Airways, Allegiant Air (all three do not service the Hawaii market) and Hawaiian Airlines. Hawaiian Airlines stopped accepting cash on its trans-Pacific flights two years ago and in January 2007 expanded the policy to its interisland flights.

So far none of the nation's big airlines have gone cashless but they are likely considering it. American Airlines has tested a program of accepting credit/debit cards on select flights. Delta is testing the cashless system as well and is expected to roll it out companywide over the next year.

Like some savvy restaurants or retail stores, battery-operated handheld devices for card processing will allow flight attendants to swipe your card, obtain your credit information, make the charge and return your card in about the same time it takes to make change.

It all works to everyone's advantage. Passengers are able to conserve cash, especially when traveling to their vacation destination, and still able to buy things on board. Flight attendants will no longer have the hassles of getting change, extra paperwork and general money handling.

For airlines, the system will cut down on theft. But the bigggest benefit for airlines is probably an increase in revenue since there is an attractive ease to using a credit card for passengers to say, buy a drink or two. Can someone say "in-flight breathalyzer"?

Just Passing By

When considering a one-day tour, an escorted tour or even a cruise itinerary, read the language carefully. The words "to see," "to view," or "to admire" are not the same as "to explore" or "to visit". For example, a description for a tour of Washington, D.C. may include "to see the Lincoln Memorial." This probably means that the route of the tour bus will pass by or briefly stop in front of the momument. It does not mean you actually have the opportunity to visit the memorial itself. Check the itinerary very carefully that the attractions your heart is hoping to visit is truly that, a visit and not a drive by.

Travel Agents for Escorted Tours and Cruises

With the internet, air fares and hotel rates are so accessible that most travelers no longer go through a travel agent. Still, a travel agent is a necessary component when planning complicated itineraries for escorted tours and cruises. Many travel agencies now specialize in these areas, one factor to consider when choosing an agent or agency.

The best place to start is recommendations from family or friends who have used a particular agent or agency. Second it's almost as important that the agent has the actual experience of say, taking a cruise or a coach tour in Europe. Once you have chosen the agent or agency, give them a call. Each agency can send you a number of travel brochures for different tour companies and cruises. From there, at your leisure, you can diligently choose the vacation that fits your purpose. You may choose to work via the internet but that first call and experience can help to give you an idea if you are comfortable with the travel agent.

For land tours, among the most respected are Trafalgar and Globus. Each company publishes tour brochures based on the part of the world you are wanting to visit. For example, the Trafalgar tour brochure for Europe will detail tours of various lengths and will encompass as few as two countries to a dozen or more. Each tour description details day by day what the tour includes. Some airlines also have an arm that will handle vacation options such as American Airline's AAVacations (www.aavactions.com)

For pricing of these tours, look at the hotels included in addition to attractions. The more central or upscale the hotel, the higher the cost. Hotels that are out of the city center will likely be included on a less expensive tour.

For cruises, your choice will likely be based on the ports of call as well as the ship and its amenities. Norwegian Cruise Line has gained some popularity for its freestyle cruising. Unlike traditional cruises, NCL's freestyle cruising have no fixed times for dinner, relaxed dress codes and your choice of restaurant. You can plan ahead or choose on a whim. Like the hotels for land tours, your choice of cabin on a cruise is a big factor when budgeting for your cruise.

Another important thing to consider when budgeting for a tour or cruise is the cost of activities that are not included in the base price. Land tour operators and cruises always have the optional excursions that can add at least a couple of hundred of dollars per person to the intial cost.

The best part of all for choosing an escorted tour or cruise is a lot of the planning is taken off of your shoulders. Just choose wisely and carefully for your purpose.

Backwards to the future seats?

Everyone dreads the middle seat on a plane. But the experience on a long haul flight may never the same again. Britian's PAIG (Premium Aircraft Interiors Group) has introduced the Freedom Economy Seat, a three-seat row that flips the middle one backwards. The four-seat configuration has the two middle seats facing backwards.

Introduced in a trade show in Germany this year, these seats try to eliminate the current problems passengers experience with present day configurations. These include bumping elbows, knees and shoulders. PAIG claims these seats also give the passenger two more inches of legroom.

PAIG also claims that these seats will allow the airlines to add more seats to a plane. For example on a typical 777 econcomy configuration, there are nine seats across. Freedom Seats will allow airlines to have ten seats across.

The main question is how passengers will feel about a stranger staring back at them two feet away. Think of someone standing in the elevator facing away from the doors. The seats feature fold-out privacy shields built into the head rests for privacy so another passenger can't watch what you're watching on your laptop screen.

So will airlines add these seats for the economic (more seats) or passenger benefit. The idea is not actually that unusual. British Airways has some seats facing backwards. But these seats are featured in their Club World business class section.

These seats are designed for wide-body jets. PAIG has indicated that these seats will not work in a narrow-body economy section such as on a 737.

Source: Gannett

World's Largest Hotels

With the ranking of the world's busiest airports, it should only be fitting that a list of the world's largest hotels follow. Based on the total number of rooms they are:

1) FIRST WORLD HOTEL (Malaysia) 6,118 rooms (pictured above)
2) MGM GRAND (Las Vegas) 5,690
3) AMBASSADOR CITY JOMTLEN (Thailand) 4,631
4) LUXOR (Las Vegas) 4,408
5) MANDALAY BAY (Las Vegas) 4,341
6) THE VENETIAN (Las Vegas) 4,027
7) EXCALIBUR (Las Vegas) 4,008
8) BELLAGIO (Las Vegas) 3,993
9) CIRCUS CIRCUS (Las Vegas) 3,993
10) FLAMINGO LAS VEGAS (Las Vegas) 3,565
11) HILTON HAWAIIAN VILLAGE (Honolulu) 3,386
12) CAESAR'S PALACE (Las Vegas) 3,349
13) MIRAGE (Las Vegas) 3,044
14) MONTE CARLO (Las Vegas) 3,002
15) LAS VEGAS HILTON (Las Vegas) 2,956
16) PARIS (Las Vegas) 2,916
17) TREASURE ISLAND (Las Vegas) 2,885
18) GAYLORD OPRYLAND (Nashville) 2,883
19) DISNEY'S POP CENTURY (Orlando) 2,880
20) BALLY'S (Las Vegas) 2,814

Just below the top 20 are two other Las Vegas hotels, WYNN at 2,716 rooms and IMPERIAL PALACE at 2,635 rooms.

The following hotels will take their place among these hotels when completed:

ASIA ASIA HOTEL (Dubai) 6,500 rooms
THE CITYCENTER CASINO (Las Vegas) 4,100 (pictured below)
PALAZZO CASINO (Las Vegas) 3,025

Also the MGM Grand is upping their game to maintain at least a second position. Two additional towers at this emerald resort will add another 1,152 rooms when they are completed sometime in 2007. If the hotels were to be ranked by average room size, then THE VENETIAN would shoot to the top at an average 700 square feet.

World's Busiest Airports

The Airports Council named the busiest airports in the world for 2006 based on the total number of passengers. The council's preliminary rankings are:

1) ATLANTA'S Hartsfield International Airport 84.8 million
2) CHICAGO'S O'Hare International Airport 76.2 million
3) LONDON'S Heathrow Airport 67.5 million
4) TOKYO'S Haneda Airport 65.2 million
5) LOS ANGELES International Airport 61 million
6) DALLAS-FORT WORTH International Airport 60 million
7) PARIS Charles de Gaulle Airport 56.8 million
8) FRANKFURT Airport 52.8 million
9) BEIJING Capital International Airport 48.5 million
10) DENVER International Airport 47.3 million

Hartsfield also led in the number of flights at 976,447. O'Hare ranked second with 958,643 flights. The Airports Council's final figures are released in June.

One Pound Equals Two Dollars

It's finally happen (again). The British pound passed the $2 mark last week, the first time since 1992 and has been fluctuating around there since. Maybe that's why there's a hint of a smile on the Queen's face on British currency. What does this mean to the U.S. traveler? This means a hamburger costs $8; to have a beer with that, you'll have to cough up another $5. A one-way ticket on the London subway (okay, tube) is $8; the meter in a taxi starts running at $4.40; and then the ride from Heathrow Airport to central London is at least $110.

At this exchange rate, just the enjoyment of having a Starbucks coffee and pastry can set you back $15. Still, this probably won't stop another 3.7 million U.S. visitors to the United Kindom from spending another 2.7 billion pounds. Count the Hopeful Traveler among them. Oh yeah, 2.7 billion pounds is more than $5 billion.

Just to put Americans in their place, the joke about the lack of value of Canadian money is on us now. The Canadian dollar is almost worth as much as a U.S. dollar.