Camden Town & Camden Market

I love Camden Market and Camden Town. I think it is by far one of my favorite spots in London. There are two types of Brits--the really quiet, reserved type and then the ones who are the exact opposite. Pretty much all of Camden Town is inhabited (or so it seems) by the latter rather than the former. The whole things is a blast, plus the majority of the stuff there is dirt cheap. Mom, India--we are DEFINITELY coming here! Forewarning you!!!


Camden Town... this is just the main street


Another shot of Camden Town


Hee hee... This is sorta like Robocop meets Goth chick. LOVE it!


Some sweet shoes that I refrained from purchasing... I liked the yellow ones and the black & white ones.


Thought the shoes were pretty awesome. Not only were they plastic platforms, but they have glittery plastic butterflies too! I belatedly realized that the "peace" sign in America is the Bird in England... whoops! So yeah, that's me, flipping the world off! TWICE!

My favorite person that I saw at the Market... We were trying to be inconspiquous, so I had Jenny "pose" for me while I took a picture of this dude. Sadly, he turned to the guy on the right just as I was snapping the photo!!! I was saddened by this... His face was awesomely decorated, too!


I just thought it was.... gleefully colorful?


I thought this dress would be pretty awesome on Brittanie and would have bought it for her had I known her measurements.


An Earth Goddess in an organic food restaurant---I took it for Kate!


A beautifully embroidered and beaded skirt from India.


Another beautifully embroidered and beaded skirt from India.


Sweet!


We thought it might look better on me. As opposed to changing in the open (which is not uncommon, actually), we decided a hold-up shot was more appropriate.


I wish I had gotten more photos of Camden Market, but seriously, it's like the place where all the goths, punks, wackos, and druggies get together and sell things. It was FABULOUS. SO much random stuff, and some really beautiful stuff, too! Plus, they have some of the WEIRDEST stores. Like this one called Cyberdog, where they sell clothing that looks like it walked straight out of the movie Fifth Element--funky neon orange crotch suspenders and white strategically-placed strappy outfit and all. Apparently there isn't any photography allowed in the store but I didn't catch that sign, so I caught a brief--and I do mean BRIEF--video of what it was sort of like before the curiously dressed girl with the nose ring yelled at me in a British accent. But seriously.... Fifth Element. Watch it. Totally the same type of style. Or better yet click here!

6 May 2008

We went to buy tickets to the musical the Lion King, and on our way we decided to go to Hogwarts!!


Look! It's platform 9 ¾ at King's Cross Station!


Unfortunately, our trolley got stuck in the wall. Apparently the Hogwarts Express had left without us!


So we all decided to pose with our stuck cart. This is Whitney...


...and Josie, both of whom are my roomies.

Down by the theater is Liecester Square (pronounced Lester). There are a lot of street performers and stuff--there was this guy who was squeaking... couldn't figure out how, though. I'm not sure if you can hear this, but here is a short clip.


PS-Hope it works.




THE THEATRE!:


This is a picture from the theatre where the Lion King was playing. It was amazing. Granted, there was a couple terrible songs (badly written, not badly sung). But anyway, it was fantastic. The costumes were I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E.


This is Whitney, me, and April waiting for Lion King to start!

So these might be a little off for my personality, but because you will never see advertisements like this in America, here are some ads compliments of the London tube.... :D


I thought this was hilarious--and a little shocking! It's actually about exercising. The small print says "Not only does exercise make you look and feel sexy, it increases blood flow to all your vital organs (wink, wink). And if that doesn't arouse your interest, we've got plenty more that will. At Vigin Active Health Clubs, you get more for your membership than anywhere else, so you get more from your body--in every sense. Life's more fun when you move".... yeah, there isn't any innuendos in that at all. ;oP

Westminster Walk and Legal London Walk

May 2, 2008--Legal London Walk

Near the Bank tube stop.


The old Guildhall square.


Guildhall square (or maybe this IS the Guildhall--we couldn't figure that out).


This is the gate to one of the Churches. I think it is dedicated to St Bartholomew the Great, or there is a statue of him or something. I didn't see a statue, so who knows.... It will come to me later.


St Bartholomew


St Bartholomew (check out the gravestones...)


St Bartholomew


It is fascinating how Modern and Old World juxtapose each other in London. I mean, look at this city street!


Some cool ornamentals on an overpass.


I just thought this was funny due to the sign that says "Dead Slow"... Don't know what it means.


Cool building. I can't remember if there was a specific reason I took a picture of it.


I believe we surmised this is the Temple Bar (the Statue). But we aren't sure.


Another cool building.


Entrance to King's College in London.


Have no idea what this is but I thought it was pretty.


Temple Church--It is circular like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This area is referred to as "the Temple" because it was owned by the Knights Templar. I'm pretty sure this is the oldest church in London... or something to that affect. I'll check my knowledge.


Temple Church


Temple Church


Westminster Walk:


Big Ben!


Park beside Parliament. It amazes me how London can be so big, busy, and noisy, yet there are hundreds of places like this park next to Parliament where the city falls away and a calm, peaceful hush surrounds you.


Not sure what this is, but that is Parliament in the background. This is in the Park pictured above.


A view of Parliament and Big Ben from the opposite side of the Thames.


Another view of Parliament and Big Ben from the opposite side of the Thames.


This is a statue of Richard the I (the Lionheart) outside of Parliament.


This is a statue of Oliver Cromwell outside of Parliament.


Westminster Abby--It costs £11.00 to tour the Abby (roungly $22) so I am still debating whether I want to give up the money to do that.


The frieze above the doorway to the Abby.

These guys played their instruments on the Tube. I have seen several musicians in the halls of the Tube, but none on the actual trains! They were by far the best musicians I have heard on the subway and I thought they were a lot of fun, so I taped them. Sorry the camera work isn't great. The Tube isn't the best place to film! I believe they were Irish. Their accent wasn't overly pronounced, however, so I couldn't guarantee that. Still, they were a lot of fun to listen to.



Please let me know if the video works of not. Thanks!

The First Full Day

April 30--The first sights of London

We went on our first walk, which was by far the most boring one. We were touring the city where the original London Wall used to exist. This is one of the few parts that remain of it:


This is the only known surviving medieval gate tower of the London Wall. I believe it was discovered when they were excavating the site for the Tube. This is next to the Tower of London.


One of the last remaining segments of the wall. It is 35 feet tall and I'm not sure how long it is. That is a statue of either the original Caesar or Caesar Augustus, I believe. The wall was initially built by the Romans. At the time, London was not very large.

Some other sites to see: I don't remember being overly interested in a lot of the stuff we saw on the Londinium walk. It was rather boring, as I said before.


Thought it was entertaining... this pub is located on the street known as "Crutched Friars"... wonder where (or from whom) the name came from??


Wednesday was the first day I had ever used the Tube, or anything like it. It was quite an experience, but in actuality the Tube is very, very easy to comprehend. I'm a pro at it now, and I've only been using it 3 days!

These are pictures from the "Seats of Power" walk... it went by Parliament and Westminster Abby, but it focused more on places like Buckingham Palace and such. I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few you might be interested in.

Buckingham Palace--I didn't recognize it at first. It only registered that this was the Palace because of the gilded gates. :P


A scene from the depths of London.


We thought this was a little random. The Texas Embassy, eh? Well, they always wanted to be their own country....


We are near the Thames, but not sure where this was taken.

We also went and saw the Broadway musical Wicked on Wednesday--it was AMAZING! I LOVED IT!!!!



This is the only picture I got--it's just a picture of the curtain before the show started. I guess I should have taken a picture outside of the theatre, but I didn't... sorry. If you ever get a chance to see this musical TAKE IT! It's worth every penny! I think the theatre is actually one of my favourite aspects of London. They love the theatre and they make you love it too! I am going to go see Les Miserables while I am here, and hopefully The Phantom of the Opera. But they also have a Peter Pan musical, Mary Poppins, Sound of Music, Lord of the Rings, and several others. Pretty neat, huh? Though, seeing Aragorn frolic across the stage would be a little unsettling...