Travel

LONDON

My recent trip to London was quite possibly the best birthday gift I have ever received (such a cliche to say but yes, I am a lucky gal) and I saw some of the most vibrant and vivacious sights I have ever seen. I was a classic tourist; taking photos of just about anything that I can't see in the nearest city to me (Hull) and buying just about anything that had the slogan of "London" scrawled across it in the colours of red, white and blue. I enjoyed every minute of it; Camden and the bustling market with it's smells of spices and culture; Buckingham Palace and the nature of Green Park, as well as cocktails in the Hard Rock Cafe; and of course, the theatre trip at the end of the day to see Phantom of the Opera.

CAMDEN MARKET

After having heard all about Camden Lock via Instagram and the many posts of this very bridge, I knew I had to go, so after I reveled over the sheer size of Kings Cross (bearing in mind I haven't been to our capital city since I was about 8 years old  - everything was a marvel to me) we squeezed ourselves into the tube and headed here. For starters, we had gotten on the wrong train from Doncaster to London (a mistake I only took credit for as we headed to London with no stops and almost an hour quicker than planned with no additional costs) we were early and ergo had more time to spend wandering before the show that evening: I had even written an itinerary. It was raining, but we only really had one issue- I was hungry.

Going inside the food section at Camden market is like a merciless assault on your nostrils- the myriad of spices from different cultures of the world's subcontinents mix together in a kind of smog that hangs in the air and creates the sensation of hunger. I couldn't decide what I wanted and after trying some kind of squid from a very pleasant Chinese lady who did not stop smiling I ordered sweet and sour chicken and noodles, and ate most of it in 5 minutes flat (only recommendation was that more chicken is needed- to the slight disappointment and bemusement of my vegetarian friends- I am a meat lover.)

The Doc Martens shop blew me away; such good quality boots and shoes in gorgeous designs, showing off years of rebellion and punk attitude and industry. I digress. After food, market stalls began to call. I could have spent hours looking at the iridescent colours of the lanterns or the patches for heavy metal lover (Joe) and jewellery and art and vinyl and CDs and just about anything you can think of and more. Unfortunately, we didn't have hours, especially as someone got lost in a bin of Iron Maiden patches in a shop run by a transvestite and a Bulgarian man- who kindly offered to be my husband until I politely declined and left to stand with a Labour protester until I found companion.

Camden seemed to be the only place on planet Earth for it to be acceptable to be a) around 60 years old and wearing fishnet tights in a range of technicolour patterns and b) looking great and not caring about what you look like anyway in them. This being said, its was October. She must have been freezing.

Camden was a highlight of my visit to Britain's capital city. The essence of cultivation and the enlightenment of culture was a breath of fresh air to my usual escapades to town and back; maybe some day soon I'll be able to travel there again? Who knows.