Our first stop is a tiny little location in north central London. The tourist trap of them all: Camden Lock town, home of the most famous Camden Lock Market. Here, hundreds of tiny stalls and little shops cover nearly 5 square blocks of space. The whimsical color and music emanating from the bustling market is enchanting, although the mass of human beings are a little off putting for those who dislike crowds.
With so many shops, it becomes obvious that some of them have to provide food. In fact, an entire block and area is set up just for that, with cultural foods abound. Mango smoothies, or fresh sandwiches from a local Zanzibar stall are just two examples that made up the typhoon of different smells coming off of the block.
The best part of the culinary sector had to have been the Chinese food stalls. In total, I counted about 12 of them, each offering essentially the same food. Well, I say offering, but in reality they were all but tossing their food at people. "Try it!" they would yell at you in their oriental accent, "Real good chicken! Try!". I contemplated making a meal of 12 pieces of free chicken, before my eyes became caught on something else...
Food is only a part of the adventure, however, as there were the shops. with curious shops come even more curious people, like this shop owner walking about:
I'm sure we could fit just one more colour on her. No? Ohh well.
Equally interesting to look at were the multitude of statues or other appealing items that catch consumers' attention.
Ultimately, I have marked Camden Market Town as a location to head back to, if not for their food, then for their eclectic collection of anything you could imagine. My favorite? These shirts I contemplated getting for the family back home.
Because nothing says "I <3 you" more than a cheeky t-shirt.
In addition to the Camden Lock area, there is the ubiquitous China Town. Located in just about every nation's largest city, China Town London is alluring in its own way. With outdoor menus and large signs claiming "Best Crispy Duck in London!," it is hard not to be drawn into the little Oriental area.
Being about noon, my fellow adventurers and I decided upon lunch, but agreed that with so many options, it had to be the absolute cheapest, to save money for Italian Gelato later.
This was a terrible idea.
While every store, about 30 in total, had their own menus out front and easy to see, each store also had their own idea about "early-bird" discounts. We wandered around for about half an hour attempting to calculate the cheapest option, becoming more and more sloppy with our numbers as our stomachs began to make our decisions for us. Some way or another, however, we stumbled across this cozy little shop that we had all to ourselves.
Upon being seated, all three of us noticed something a little daunting...
No cutlery. Just two ceramic chopsticks.
In a slight panic about how to proceed with our meals without the expected fork present, and not to be rude to our onlooking hosts, we attempted to make do as best as possible with the chopsticks.
Needless to say, we made due.
After a little finagling, we eventually got the grip of eating with chopsticks, and set out about our meal. The best part about the meal had to have been the traditional Chinese atmosphere in the restaurant, which was so very unlike your typical Chinese Buffet. That being said, however, me and my fellow adventurers could not help a feeble attempt at suppressed joy at hearing the classical Oriental music switch over to Frozen's "Let it Go" halfway through the meal. I suppose Frozen really is a worldwide sensation.
After dinner, we intrepid tourists made our way out of Chinatown and back into the heart of things at Trafalgar Square, the M&M Building, and other tourist-y places:
Panoramas always seem to distort the real magnificence of a place...Pictured here is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
Did old Europeans, or anyone for that matter, really pose so ridiculously?
Each of the stops, amongst many more not pictured above, had at least a single street performer, though many of the places had multiple talents. From magicians and singers, to "con" men and women (they 'challenged' people to impossible and rigged tasks), to simple street comedians and illusionists, there was always something to stand and gawk at in true tourist fashion.
How could you not stop and gawk? Really, come now.
I had to go and see this for myself.
Just a tiny view of a magnificent building.
"And that's the Gospel Truth!" - Hercules
David Tennant 10 pound note. Used in the show, as it is illegal to reproduce British currency.
Creepy, bug-eyed mask thingy. Obviously Aztec.
The insanely popular Rosetta Stone. The key to our understanding of the Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
After spending an exceedingly generous amount of time pouring over ancient artifacts, we made our way out of the grand halls of the British museum (we are tourists, not historians after all), and found ourselves face to face with this:
That's right. The Flying Trapeze School. How one can ponder over ancient artifacts and be astounded how time flies, yet when time is consumed by people flying through the honest-to-goodness air, you seem to be in a rush. At least we were at the time, but I snapped a quick picture and we went on our merry way on into Queen Mary's Garden for my second time.
Inside we were greeted with something out of a Disney tale:
A wedding had just taken place, and the entirety of the gardens were speckled with people in solid white ceremonial garbs. The wedding was of some sort of Eastern culture, and there was a ton of dancing and traditional music.
The absolute highlight of the day, however, was on our way to get ourselves the aforementioned Italian gelato. We were walking with purpose towards Buckingham Palace to reach a connecting street when we became sidetracked by a large crowd buzzing around a large set of black iron gates.
Throughout the day, these gates had stood unattended, but at this moment two Beefeaters and a platoon of no less than 10 policemen and women stood guard around these gates. Upon asking these officials what was going on, they could only reply with "Someone of importance is leaving this palace." While this was not Buckingham Palace, myself and the other adventurers decided to stop our walk and wait. Seeing "someone of importance" far outweighed our need for gelato.
Within about 10 minutes the Beefeater guards, with their large black plumes, began to shuffle to a salute as the gates opened. Out came a caravan of two large, armored vehicles, a small black car, and another set of large armored vehicles. I snapped the picture below:
In hindsight, a video of the whole affair may have been more impressive.
The entire event lasted perhaps a minute. Curious, we went back up to the policemen and women and asked if they were able to tell us now who was inside those vehicles. They smiled and said "Prince Charles, of course," to which we could not help but feel awed.
Although any story that follows up, 'And then we saw the Prince," is sure to be forgotten, I have yet to try.
Being a tourist in the city of London since I have set foot here on the georgeous Island known as England, I thought it about time to go and explore another city. This is easier said than done, as my TravelCard is only good within London, and there seems to be no end to the city no matter how far I take the Underground Tubes.
Where the is a will, there is a way, and I achieved escape velocity with my brief trip into Brighton.
There is not enough that can be said of Brighton. Being England's number one city, there is way to much to be able to say. It is the fashion capital of the country, as well as the happiest. When people talk about Brighton here, it brings to mind the ideal of "cool" or "hip". To the gay population of England, there is no better place to be, as Brighton has been the British equivalent to San Francisco for years.
So, upon arrival, it should come as no surprise that the overwhelming positive culture was instantly apparent. People walked up and down the street with massive smiles on their faces, with many people remarking to us tourists "Come on, where the smile?". It was really amazing.
We made our first stop at the famous Royal Pavilion Palace, which was the home of the King Charles the First. There was a strict 'No Photography' code in effect for the interior of the building, which was simply marvelous. Instead, I managed to get a profile of the Indian influenced exterior.
The Royal Pavilion tour gave way to the beautiful shopping district, characteristically called 'The Lanes', which were made up of tiny, red bricked walkways that led to several tiny stores that sold a multitude of goods, from designer watches and jewelry, to fine artisan baked goods and even a pet store.
The road, as you may have noticed in the video, is a real crosswalk. With real traffic.
Watching the Australians and even Russians run out into traffic, to the eternal annoyance of those drivers who have no alternative but to cross Abbey Road, was a real joy. Getting that 'perfect' picture to reflect the Beatles album cover takes true dedication and patience. Not only from the participants and cameraman, but from the locals who see the crowd day in and day out.
It should therefore come as no surprise that my attempt was a one-off video, so as to provide the absolute maximum number of potential picture opportunities in the absolute least amount of time and effort. That is not to say that no effort went into the making of the video - as a great deal of patience with the mob was extended.
But then again, large crowds and long lines are a tourist's dream.
- The Adaptable Tyler
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