What I love most about London is there is always something new to discover and on the weekend I discovered my version of HEAVEN - the Borough Markets. Located at London Bridge its a fresh food market that is on during the week but is pumping on the weekends. Leanne, Sean, Clare and I made our way over there and were very excited about what we saw. Hundreds of stalls all with different types of fresh food with little samplers out and about. We wandered through and tried lots of different pesto's, sauces, chutneys, jams on crackers and tried nearly every cheese that was on offer. It was actually quite filling and if I am ever near by I think I will just pop down there for lunch.
We had been advised to 'look for the cathedral, smell the cheese and turn around' to find the most delicious chocolate tart in the world. The directions sounded vague enough but they were actually spot on. Underneath the cathederal there was a cheese stall that sold bread with hot cheese melted onto it (hence the smell) and as we turned around we saw what could only be described as an out door french patisserie. They had soooo much to choose from (I was eyeing off some pretty wicked brownies) but Clare and Sean took the advice of their house mate and opted for the chocolate tart. It was delicious - so rich but sooooooooo good.Along the way we were trying lots of dips and a few of them had a bit of a bite to them. One little sign even said 'extra extra hot' and silly me thought I could handle it. I eat spicy food quite often at home and really enjoy it so I figured they wouldn't have anything out there that I hadn't tried before. I even asked the lady if she thought I would suffer and she said ' it grows on you' which was all very mysterious but I gave it a go anyway. At first I couldn't taste anything so I re dipped my pita bread. WORST. MISTAKE. EVER. My mouth was on fire! It really did grown on you... and it just got spicier and spicier until I was breathing fire. Needless to say I didn't invest in any of that chilli dip.
After checking out most of the stalls we were trying to hunt down some lunch so we headed to a different section where there were massive woks filled with fresh thai green curry and pad thai, hamburger stands, fried chicken stands but after much deliberation the girls opted for a falafel wrap which are my current new addiction and a market visit tradition (we had tucked into those at Portobello road markets too). A bite to eat and we were off to another market at Southbank.
This market happens on the first weekend of every month and while it is nothing like the Borough Markets it was still good to check out. The only problem was we were already so full from eating our way around the other market that we didn't really feel like having much. We grabbed a free sample of Moroccan chicken (note to self go to Morocco) before investing in the most chocolaty brownie I have ever eaten and I don't mean to brag but I am a chocolate brownie connoisseur. We checked out a bit of folk dancing while we ate them and after grabbing a quick drink we headed over the Waterloo Bridge to Covent Garden.
On the way we stopped off at the Aussie & Kiwi store which holds lots and lots of favourites from home. Allens lollies! Vegemite! Solo! Pizza SHAPES! and much much more but as it was EXTREMELY expensive (around $6 for a box of shapes) I behaved myself and didn't buy anything. Although it has kicked in a bit of a craving for some home comforts so every now and then when I am feeling rich I might drop by there after work and get a bag of snakes.
Covent Garden is yet another market but its a little bit more structured and a lot more high brow with actual shops intertwined with the markets. We had a quick browse of a few shops and market stalls and noted that there was a really good Paella stall and a cupcake shop that I will definitely be visiting soon. The crowds there were pretty hectic as it is a pretty big touristy area and there were lots of street performers around so we got over it fairly quickly.
The next stop on our day out in London was a vintage clothing sale at an old pub that I had read about on a London event website. I think the others may have been a little bit skeptical about this place as I wasn't 100% sure what it was called...or where it was...all I knew was it was on Holloway Road. We found it eventually and had a nice long browse around. The girls picked up some really good bargains with Leanne finding a 80% wool winter coat for 15 pounds and Clare scoring some boots and a skirt. Unluckily for me the only thing I invested in was a fake silver ring that tarnished about 3 hours after I bought it. Bummer! It was still fun to have a look around and I think I will be doing a bit more op-shopping along the way.
What a day! But it certainly wasn't over by a long shot. After a couple of hours rest at home I headed out to a house party of a friend of a friend (thats how it goes over here it seems as I never seem to know the host of the party but oh well!) where we tucked into bbq food and made the most of the available grog. The house was beautiful and would be my dream home in London if I was a millionaire and it had a great area out the back to sit and drink. And drink we did. So much so in fact I ended up telling everyone I was really awesome at tennis. For those of you who don't know my athletic abilities let met tell you they are crap and for those of you who do know me are probably nodding along with this sentence. Needless to say I will never live that little rant down and now whenever I play tennis I have a lot to live up to.
After a few (probably too many) drinks at the house party we headed out to Clapham High Street which is an area not far from where we all live that has lots and lots of bars, clubs and restaurants and is basically a really fun area to head out in. We met up with another friend and discovered a place called Cafe Sol and ended up spending the night on the dancefloor until we got kicked out at 3 am. Midnight stop at Maccas followed by the night bus and we ended up crawling in the door at 4.30am.
The next day was a struggle as most Sundays in London seem to be for me as I was hung over yet again. Highlight of the day was skyping with the family as it had been a little too long since I had spoken to them and I was falling behind on all the news. After a few hours online I headed off shopping with the girls to Shepard Bush before meeting up with my cousin for Sunday Roast. Due to the trains being delayed and all that fun transport stuff I got all the way to Shepards Bush before spending 15 minutes in the shopping centre then turning straight around and heading in the complete opposite side of London to the pub where my cousin and her hubby were at. This usually would have been a simple 30 min tube ride on one line directly across the city but since the line was closed I had to get the over ground to the next tube line which wasn't a big deal except I missed the train by 1 minute and had to wait 15 mins for the next one. In London waiting any longer then 7 minutes for public transport is a travesty!!! Once on the next tube line I sat on there for half and hour before getting off and discovering my connecting tube stop was closed. The next option was to get the bus but when I walked out onto the street I found out the bus stop was closed due to a cycle ride for charity event. I then had to walk up the road to the next bus stop and waited another 10 minutes. Only when I got on I realised I only had to go one stop and could have walked there in the 10 minutes that I waited. UHHHH being hungover and lost is NOT FUN - especially when your friends who are shopping text you and tell you they just saw Eva Longoria in Topshop.
It was all worth it in the end as I got to catch up with Robyn and Nick and their friends while tucking into a roast meal. Well I tried to tuck in but at this stage I was still borderline hungover and didn't want to push it. It was a good way to spend a Sunday arvo and another chance to discover a new pub. After a very very long bus ride back home (I just couldn't deal with all the tube/train drama) I was showered and tucked in bed by 9pm.
It was a tiring weekend but one of the better ones I have had in London (apart from my time at Topshop I haven't really had any bad ones) and I was happy that I had made the most of my days off. There is so much to do and see and even though we crossed a few things off our list we added about 10 more things onto it. I am already anxious that I am running out of time and I have a longer visa then most! Still if I can get out and do something at least once a week then I will be happy girl!
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