Portobello Road

Note: This post was mostly written on Sunday, but I wasn't able to finish it until today (Tuesday), so when I say "today" I mean "Sunday"

This morning we got an even later start than yesterday. Our original plan was to go to Portobello Road Market and find some delectable fruit or something for lunch, take it to Kensington Gardens and eat, then explore several museums in the afternoon. What actually happened is that we got out of the house late, accidentally got on the slowest train to London possible, and didn't arrive in the city until well after 12. Getting to Portobello Road involved further mishaps- they are doing work on the Tube this weekend and it seemed we ran in to that today at every turn. We had to leave the train station we arrived at because the Tube line that served it wasn't even running and walk maybe half a mile to the next station! This turned out to be fine, and led to some other adventures which we'll talk about later, but it was inconvenient.

Several hours later we arrived at Portobello Road. And boy am I glad we persevered, despite the determination of the Underground to keep us away! Basically the whole road is line with little shops that sell stuff, and all of the shopkeepers have tables of fun stuff outside that you can look at as you meander your way along. We saw used cricket bats for sale, a store with a window full of antique Singer sewing machines, lots of antique doorknobs and things. Also, there were tons of little stalls selling gelato, and some selling crepes with nutella and strawberries, and some selling Belgian waffles with ice cream. Given the heat I'm not sure how we resisted the last. At the end of the line there was a market where people sold fresh fruits and veggies, but we were too late for that so we contented ourselves with a little cafe for lunch.

I have to say this was my favorite thing we've done so far. It was fun to get away from the tourist attractions and just see London.