The weather yesterday was a complete mess! It was be pouring down rain for 30 minutes and then the next 30 minutes would be bright and sunny. That cycle repeated all day long. There was a planned “Monumental Tour of London” to see all the major sites, like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben & so forth, but I was not prepared for the weather, so I opted out. The tour is offered again in a couple weeks so I’ll be able to catch it then, hopefully with better weather! Instead of the tour I cleaned my room and our kitchen, did laundry, prepared my materials as if I were going to were on homework (but didn’t actually work on homework), you know.. the usual.
My friend Laura got here yesterday. She goes to Fontbonne as well, but she’s doing a different study abroad program that lasts 3 weeks. Lucky for us, we only live a mile away from one another! Once she got all settled, Laura and a few of her classmates met Whitney and I at a pub called the Rocket. It was very cool to see a familiar face in this strange new land! (Not that it’s very different from home…)We danced the night away and had a grand ole’ time! I’m looking forward to showing her the things that I’ve discovered here, and going on new adventures.
Today was the first time I woke up before 11:00 in a week and a half. There was a scheduled walking tour to see all the Fashion Sites of London. We were supposed to meet Tony, our guide, at the Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus at 10:30AM. Due to the renovations in preparation for next summer’s Olympics, AND the strike that apparently just started, we didn’t arrive at the Statue until 10:32AM…. And they were already gone. This tour is also being offered again, so it’s not that big of a deal… but it’s still a pain.
It was already planned that I was to meet my instructor Robin at the Camden Market at 1:00, so I suggested to Cassidy and Whitney that we just head to Camden. This was my first time in Camden, the hub of youth and alternative culture in London. I have NO IDEA why it took me so long to get there! As you walk down Camden Road there are all of these shops on either side of the street selling shoes and clothing and souvenirs. The further you walk, once you cross the canal it’s like you’re in a different place. There are all of these food stands from all over the world with people yelling at you to sample their food. (Which I did, obviously)
Once you pass the canal and all of that madness, there is store after store that leads right into the market. Really Camden Market is a bunch of different markets all in one area. Today I coined the term “Labyrinth of Temptation”. It was insane. At least with Portobello Market, It’s all down one street on each side of the road. This part of the Market, called the Stable Market (Because it was at one time stables, genius right?), is seriously like a maze the size of 3 city blocks. The leather goods and jewelry are amazing. There were lots of cutesy frilly shops and young designers trying to build their brand. I mean seriously, everything you could imagine. Stimulus overload.
The reason Robin wanted to take us there was because of this store called CYBERDOG. I don’t even know how to describe it. He said that the idea behind the store was to showcase the relationship between human and machine. The store had goth, industrial, alien, bizarre clothing that glowed under black lights and had LED messages that scrolled through them. It was very futuristic/ lady gaga-esque.
After taking in the whole market, I made a beeline for home to work on the huge stack of homework I’ve been putting off. Now that I’ve create every excuse under the sun to not work on it… it’s about that time!
ALSO, I’d like to wish my dad a very Happy Father’s Day! Love you Dad! Wish I could be on the beach too!
Laura and I at The Rocket
Laura and Whitney with their delicious flavored ciders
Camden Road
Busy, Busy!
All of the buildings had huge sculptures on them
The Canal
Have a seat overlooking the canal on a converted scooter!
Camden Market
Tunnel from Camden Market to Stables Market
Stables Market
The lovely Cassidy with one of the many horses around the place
'Nuff said
Cyberdog... This place was insane
the market version of a food court
The stand there, samples in hand, shouting at people to try their food
Lots of variety
I ended up with the UK version of Sweet & Sour Chicken - YUM!
another massive horse
Really amazing vintage store, also in New York City
Stalls that don't have vendors. See- they really were stables!
On the opposite wall, showing the work that was done there.
"Labyrinth of Temptation"
I love this picture!
awesome giant Shiva head
My Spoils:
I wanted EVERYTHING this vendor was selling. The sweatshirt I was originally going to buy has an old photo of Elvis on it and it was amazing but then I found Johnny Cash, and let's face it... that shirt is perfection. I didn't want to buy two of basically the same thing so I got the wolf instead. I still kind of want Elvis though :|
There are a bunch of ways you can wear this. I was thinking mainly about for traveling... basically it's a freakin cute leather leopard fanny pack (BUT NOT, OBVIOUSLY!)
The ONLY performer that comes close to The Boys from Shepard Bush,you know WHO they are,is Big John Cash.That photo of Him was taken by a BBC TV crew that was filming a concert to be aired,they were telling Him where to stand what songs to play/not play,what to wear...and that picture was the result of pushing The Man in Black just a little too far. Now both my upper and lower lip quivered a little bit.Cheers!
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