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Published: June 16th 2008
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Streets of Notting Hill
Here's a shot of the Portobello Market. Big crowds on Saturdays! We decided to do some exploring on our first Saturday, and headed toward Notting Hill. Our tube line out of Vauxhall (Victoria) was closed for the weekend, so we took a bus over to Victoria station to catch the Central line to Notting Hill Gate. Victoria Station is a large station with rail connections, so it's got food courts and lot's of traffic. I forced Joan and Hunter to let me get a quick shot of them in front of the station with our trusted Starbuck's in hand! Hunter told me it's more fun when it's just he and his mom because they don't always have to stop for photos! I keep trying to convince him that he'll appreciate all the pics when he’s older, but he’s not buyin’ what I’m sellin’!
When we entered the underground at Victoria, we were introduced to Saturday crowds! Wow! I guess Saturday’s are the day to get out and about in London and they all meet underground for the day! And it seems that this is also the time that the rail system decides to perform all of their maintenance, so service is spotty at best. It all just adds to the adventure.
Victoria Station
Joan and Hunter, Starbucks in hand, prepare to go underground at Victoria Station When we arrived at Notting Hill Gate, it wasn’t hard to find the Portobello Market. All we had to do if follow the mob. We were stunned by the numbers of people all crowding onto this one narrow street that was filled with sidewalk vendors! It made for a festive atmosphere, but you better bring your patience with you.
We spent a couple of hours in the market, and then decided to break out of the crowd and walk about the neighborhood for a while. Once we broke out, we tried to go underground again at Holland Park, but the crowd was too thick and we jumped a black taxi to Oxford Circus. Once in Oxford Circus, we realized that all of GB was not at the Portobello Market like it appeared. They were actually at Oxford Circus! Again, the Saturday crowds downtown are un-believable! We walked for a while, and decided to head back to the apartment for a couple of hours. We went underground at Oxford Circus, came back up at Waterloo station and walked to the apartment from there. It’s a great walk from Waterloo to our place, because you start at the London Eye on
Alice's Restaurant
I don't think it's "THE" Alice's Restaurant, but I liked the pic! the river, and stay along the South side of the river until you get to the apartment. It’s probably a mile, but a very nice walk. You go right past Westminster Abby and Big Ben, and on pretty days like today, there are a lot of boats on the river.
We got back to the apartment where I caught up on a little work (it doesn’t seem to stop these days!), and we just relaxed for a few hours. We thought about dinner and finally decided to try and find a little Mexican food restaurant that I had remembered seeing a few weeks ago when I was over here by myself. I “thought” I remembered the general area, but it would require some exploring (which translates into walking..lots and lots of walking!). As we made our way down the elevator, the doors opened on the ground floor and there were about 5 young men standing there. It was odd enough, because our elevator (lift) is very secluded and we rarely meet anyone on it. After we got off and they got on, Joan and I both thought that they looked like a rock band. While I went to the
Crowded Streets
Here's another shot of Portobello Market in Notting Hill concierge for some eating tips, Joan made it back over to our receptionist and ask him who that was that got on the elevator. He said he was sworn to secrecy and not even Joan could get him to give up the name of the group. He did, however, confirm that it is a rock band and we would definitely recognize them by name. So when we find out who it is (and Joan WILL find out!), we’ll post it here first!
We did find the Mexican restaurant, and it was …well…..edible. But what did we expect, right? We’ll continue our search for great dining because this crazy little kitchen in our apartment isn’t good for much beyond sandwiches, coffee, cereal and fruit!
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Randy
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Mexican Food
Scott, Was the mexican food as "good" as it was in France? Remember how we walked all over Paris looking for the "best mexican food in all of Europe" and when we found it we nearly puked!