London Markets

So far one of my favorite things about London is the markets. Borough Market is probably my favorite. It's walking distance from my flat and it's fabulous. I could easily spend so much money there, but I mostly go to get free samples. They have every type of food imaginable. You can get produce and meat and fish, but there's also lots of prepared foods and bakery goods. My favorite things are the chocolate and cheese stands and seeing the crazy stuff available at the butcher's (see the background photo on this page) and at the fishmonger (there was a whole shark one week). It's the type of place that I can absolutely picture Anthony Bourdain visiting. I've been twice already but need to go back since I've yet to try the paella, which looks amazing, or the beer shops.

Another market that's pretty fantastic is Camden Market, which is quite different. It has pretty much everything--clothing, jewelry, antiques, ethnic food stalls, home goods--and you can very quickly get totally lost in the many alleys and streets that seem to go on forever. I've wandered around there two separate times for a total of at least four or five hours and still haven't seen everything. Not even close. So the stuff they offer is fantastic (last time I tried on fascinators--those funky British hats people wear to weddings--and then discovered a stand with tons of Star Wars paraphernalia), but my favorite part of going to Camden Market is seeing the people there. It is by far the most eccentric grouping of people I've ever seen. You get your typical tourists, but then you also get the punks with their two-foot tall mohawks, goths, ravers, and girls in old-fashioned ruffled dresses. The contrasts are really something.