After seeing Mom off to the airport this morning, I went in search for interesting markets, and I found two! First I jumped off of the Tube at London Bridge for the Borough Market. Divided by type of product, this market has a plethora of items to sell - from fresh cut flowers to apple cider, from authentic baklava to British cheese, from fresh mussels and fish to organic granola - most of which were fresh and all sorts of meals.
entrance to the market - fresh flowers.
fruit and vegetable stand.
huge sauté pans filled with different curries.
the closest one contains mussels and other seafood.
My lunch consisted of a half pint of cider and a fresh loaf of multigrain bread; I munched amid the stalls people watching and reading. It was glorious. After enjoying the sites, smells, and tastes (some give samples) of this wonderful market, I made the trek up to the Camden Lock. Here I found the supposed fourth highest tourist attraction in the city. While I'm not too sure how this statistic was conjured, I can see why many are interested. Also, my guide book said the area was becoming "too punk" for some of its readers... The area definitely increased in punk-ness within the few hours I was there, i.e. the number of people with piercings, tattoos, and unnaturally colored hair in unnatural configurations increased (maybe) exponentially. Nonetheless, this was another great spot!
railway bridge.
the lock and dam.
this is one of the MANY alleyways that comprise the market (hard to see)
This market also had many meal-food vendors, but the best part to me was the number of vintage-y shops. The vendors in this area sell dresses, t-shirts, shoes, purses, arts and crafts, handmade jewelry, etc. - similar to what you would find at one of our Mississippi street fairs. I definitely lost track of time while in this area, and seemed to walk in circles for a while. There is so many stalls, each vendor has tons of stuff, and many vendors have the exact same inventory. I know for a fact that I did not see every stall, so I am sure that I missed lots and lots of the wares. Either way, I had a great time and found some unique items.
I left Camden in time to jump the Tube to Westminster for the 5:00 evensong service. Unlike the other day at St. Paul's Cathedral, this service was much more intimate, and I understood the tradition and readings. The Anglican church is very similar to Catholicism, but very different at the same time. The Westminster Abbey is closed to site-seers at this time, so I was lucky to see the interior of this church by attending this service. It was beautiful - the church and the choir - and definitely allowed me a chance to calm down after all of the running around amid throngs of people today.
Since seeing Macbeth and Avenue Q earlier this week, I have been in the theater mood. I decided to continue this by checking out Billy Elliot. I realized that it was quite ironic for us to see Avenue Q, which is set in New York, here in London, and to counteract this, I found it proper to see Billy Elliot, which takes place in County Durham, UK. I showed up at the box office literally ten minutes before showtime and got a ticket! Sure it wasn't a great seat (second row), but I was so close to the stage that I could feel the acting. The twelve year old main character was brilliant. His (and the complete casts') singing and dancing were inspiring. And, yes, some tears rolled down my cheeks. Just a great show!
I am not sure what tomorrow holds; now that I am alone again there is no telling how many miles I will walk!
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