Mad House Satire

Though it might sound superficial and most of us don 't like to admit it, traveling abroad is the perfect excuse to shop. It 's a feeling that whatever you purchase you will be unable to find back home because it is one of a kind and unique to its country of origin (and the classic mind trick also helps when prices look a lot lower because you conveniently forget to convert the currency. Why do math on vacation?).

Whatever your excuse, a vacation simply compels one to shop. While touring the Vatican or Buckingham Palace may hover on the agenda, let 's face it - you can 't bring those home with you and wear them over and over. With summer looming on the horizon, it seems only appropriate to visit the rules of shopping abroad.

Where do you draw the line between necessary and frivolous?

Rule number two, don 't waste your time shopping in places you can find in the states, and don 't be fooled by the trés chic European names. I 've been to Harrods three times and it 's time to face the reality - it 's nothing but a supersized Bloomingdales.

With the exception of a few designers, most of the vendors Harrods carries are the same ones you 'll see inside any Bloomies or Neiman Marcus. Not to mention, the department store is a mad house and you 'll be lucky to navigate your way through without getting lost, frustrated or trampled by the amount of people, leaving you wondering if you 're actually in central London or on a safari in the middle of a stampede.

Skip it. If you want the same department store feel, Fortnum & Masons is much more accessible. It has the same feel to it, but with less crowding and unique-to-Britain products. The bottom level is produce, the middle has home décor and the top has lingerie, with various other categories interspersed in between (and not to mention a delicious old-time ice cream parlor). The same can be said of other countries. Avoid the mall-type venues; they 're nothing more than bigger, more hyped up versions of our American