britlog

This is way I generally try to avoid Oxford Street:

It’s Saturday, a good day to visit one of London’s outdoor markets.
We chose Notting Hill’s Portobello Market since our good friend the Internet told us that it’s only open on Saturdays. Portobello Road Market claims to be the world’s largest antique market so I guess that explains all the old stuff. I thought the market was quite interesting. The weather wasn’t ideal, we had proper British weather today – damp, cloudy and quite cold (the coldest 10C!) but the amount of pubs and cafes available to warm up in more than made up for it.

This a picture of the beginning of the south end of the market:

Once you get past the antiques, jewelry and clothes you get to the vegetable stands where we picked up lots of cheap groceries making it a similar Saturday afternoon to those we’ve had in Toronto’s Kensington Market. Here I reach for some avocados:

You can tell we’re in Notting Hill because the presentation of some of the veggie stands is quite lovely:

And this last one is of me, at the end of the market when it turns back into a residential area. I’m carrying some flowers, 14 roses actually, that we picked up for only £1 (2 bunches of 7 roses per bunch, why 7 per bunch I don’t know):

God bless my towel rack warmer!
When it’s cool and rainy (what? in Britain? How dare mum nature!) nothing makes me happier than a warm towel after a shower. Seriously, how have I lived this long without one?! This is the single greatest thing about this flat. Almost makes me figure and forget the lack of storage. Oh and the fact that all the light switches are all backwards. Oh and I seem incredibly allergic to something in the carpets…
But warm towels!

We had a craving for burgers today so we went to GBK – Gourmet Buger Kitchen in Bayswater (close to Nottinghill). It was ok. The burgers were tasty enough, but I really am starting to hate British chips. They’re just little grease sticks. And the garlic dipping mayo Jason ordered was actually painful to eat. But that’s ok, it gave us something to complain about; and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

One observation though, many Brits eat their burgers with a knife and fork.
Now I don’t know if this manerism is influenced by the Royals or by the Seinfeld chocolate bar episode, but to me it’s weird. And it’s not just a Bayswater thing, Jason has confirmed sightings in Cambridge.

Nottinghill by the way is a really posh neigbourhood, as expected.

I heard on the BBC morning news that it’s Red Nose Day.
Still not sure what this ‘semi-holiday’ is all about.
I’m going to Goodge Street Station shortly to pick up a few things at a shop called Habitat. Hopefully I’ll see something on the street.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_Relief

I’m back from my errands.. seems Red Nose day is out with some amount of force. I saw a guy in the street with a red nose on while handing out free papers (see picture) also saw a few ads on the taxi’s,

Since it’s after 8pm now, I’m watching the Big One on BBC One now. Interesting! I wish I understood more of the jokes though, I don’t seem to find it as funny as the live audience.
Hmm, this a bit like a nation wide shine-o-rama. only with much better execution.
And, apparently it’s only once every 2 years.

ps. I can’t believe how much swearing is allowed on tv!! They sure say ‘fucking’ alot on the BBC!

I went to East Putney yesterday to visit my friend Kaila and to pick up my flat keys from her (she was kind enough to feed our cats while Jason was in Canada last week). Putney is a really nice area and reminds me just how big London is.
While in Putney I bought a hairdryer from Boots. Check that off my list of to-dos. Boots actually reminds me of the mid 80’s doing weekend shopping with Mom and stopping off at the Yonge Eglinton centre to go to Boots. I think it’s a Pharma Plus in the Y&E centre now.

Ah! Forgot to mention about my trip to Putney I decided to yet again take the bus back to Kings Cross, because well, sitting at the top of a double decker bus feels a bit like a scenic tour and this way I can see how the different neighbourhoods are connected. First bus was excellent, got to Knightsbridge in no time, made mental note that Chelsea and South Kensington is a fantastic area. At Knightsbridge i resisted the temptation to go into Harrods and walked for a bit beside Hyde Park enjoying the weather. The weather has been spectacular. Today is the 4th day in a row of brilliant blue skies, sun and spring weather. I picked up my second bus that would take me to Kings Cross, the number 10. Interesting that the night bus, the N10 goes from Putney to Kings Cross, but in the day time the 10 goes no where near Putney. Odd. But good to know that a solid night bus exists to take me back home after visiting Kaila, Jenny and their boys. Anyway, the number 10 bus goes through Oxford Circus. This was a big mistake. At 5pm, and actually I suppose at anytime of the day, Oxford Street is a zoo. I spent over 45 minutes on Oxford Street alone! I probably should have spent the extra 50p and taken the tube.