Portobello Market, Oxford St., St. Paul's Cathedral, and South Bank

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Another big walking day in London. We took this morning from Pimlico to Victoria, then from Victoria to Notting Hill Gate and walked to Portobello Road for the antique market they have every Saturday. It was crazy! There were so many people there that it was difficult to look at the stalls, but it was fun nonetheless. I bought a little picture outside Alice’s and stopped to get some cupcakes at Hummingbird Bakery (Rose and Chocolate & Peanut Butter flavored…both the daily specials). We walked up one side of the street and back the other, and by the time we were heading back (about 11:30am), it was almost twice as busy as when we’d arrived (in other words, if you go, go early!).

We took the tube from Notting Hill Gate to Marble Arch to get to the shops on Oxford St. I mostly wanted to go to Primark to see if it was as crazy inside as I had heard. I quickly found out the answer to that question is a huge YES. I’ve never seen so many people in one place looking for a bargain…I can’t even imagine what it looks like in there the day after Christmas.. Eek! I decided it wasn’t worth waiting in the long queue so I chose to save my shopping for another day. We walked the length of Oxford St., stopping only at H&M and then off Dering Street at the Timothy Taylor Gallery where they are having a small exhibit of Diane Arbus photos. We then hopped on the Bond Street tube to St. Paul’s Cathedral.

When we got to St. Paul’s, we decided to take a break in the little park along the side of the cathedral and ate our cupcakes (SO good!) and people watched for awhile. When we finally made our way to the entrance of the cathedral, we found out that it was closed for a deacon coronation ceremony. Luckily we’re coming back to London at the end of the trip so we can go back then (when we’ll also be going back to Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, which we also ran out of time for.

We walked across Millennium Bridge (which is much shorter than I’d imagined) and went to Tate Modern (stopping first to take a picture of the Old Globe Theater). I’m not really a big modern art fan, but there were some Andy Warhol prints and a Roy Lichtenstein on the 5th floor that were interesting, and a giant Monet :” Water Lillies” and some Picassos on the 3rd floor that were worth seeing.

After the Tate we did a walk along the South Bank, a popular weekend spot and a lovely place to take a stroll. There is a tiny spot of (natural) beach along the bank, and we stopped to watch an adorable little naked boy playing in the water and someone making sand sculptures. There are also a number of street performers that line up along the bank…the one with the biggest crowd around him was performing a dance to Michael Jackson music.

We walked to the other side of Waverly Bridge and took a break at Pizza Express for dinner. I can’t even spell the pizza that I had but it had artichoke hearts and asparagus and pesto and it was quite good, especially after so much walking. After we refueled, we continued our walk past London Eye (which also had a HUGE queue), the Dali Museum and the London Aquarium, stopping at Westminster Bridge to take a photo of Big Ben and Parliament and then crossing over and walking back to the hotel. By this time there was thunder and lightning outside and a tiny bit of rain, but really not very much compared to what we were expecting in England. For the most part it has been sticky and sunny here, especially way up in our 5th floor room.

And so marks the end of our first London stop. Tomorrow we head to Leeds to meet up with my friend Mike!

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Photos

Hummingbird Bakery
Portobello Road

Portobello Road Market
Outside Alice's

Rose & Chocolate/Peanut Butter cupcakes
From Hummingbird Bakery

Rose & Chocolate/Peanut Butter cupcakes
From Hummingbird Bakery

Comments

[Michael]

"can't even spell the pizza I had" Hahahahahahaha. Genius! I wouldn't dare go in the Primark there, especially not on a Saturday. You're a braver person than I. Must be the most fussed over cat in London if it's the only one there! Must be a happy cat! London's full of random nice architecture around most corners :)

[tony]

we at pettymarket.com support people at portobello market
Almost 34,000 people have backed a petition calling for action after 150 traders were ejected from Portobello Market and replaced by a chain store. The traders say it was promised they could return to Lipka's Arcade in the west London market once it had been "refurbished" by a developer. But the antique stalls were instead merged into a giant shop, now inhabited by fashion store All Saints. Marion Gettleson, who has run an antiques shop in the market for 50 years, said: "There are letters in which it was promised people could come back after work was done. That meant traders were willing to go quietly. "But when scaffolding was removed there was a massive, 10,000-square-foot All Saints in place of the stalls. "It is so utterly out of character with the neighbourhood it's breathtaking." Traders allege the development is improper because the developer said in his planning application that stallholders could return - something they say influenced the council's decision to give plans the green light. The final development is allegedly taller than was permitted under original plans, blocking a view to Notting Hill. Planning permission is being retrospectively sought for a fibreglass shop-front erected without authorisation. Kensington and Chelsea Council say no permission was needed to merge stalls. Among the 150 antiques traders, many of whom have now given up, was a woman in her 90s who had run a stall for several decades. Remaining traders say the changes to the arcade, undertaken by developer Warren Todd, threaten the character of one of London's top tourist attractions. There are already several All Saints stores in west London, including two in the nearby Westfield shopping centre.we at PETTYMARKET.COM support people at portobello market the best of london.