This is Covent Garden. The central meeting ground for anyone in London and probably one of the most entertaining places in London. The area is relatively easy to get to. There are a ton of tube stations and several bus routes that go through the area.
[pe2-image src=”http://lh4.ggpht.com/-97S_MNj8tYE/UcDDKaFGAcI/AAAAAAAAFj4/feNIGTzmDpo/s144-c-o/IMG_8108.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/107639537271854115294/PortobelloRoad#5890922896167403970″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_8108.jpg” pe2_single_image_size_format=”C” pe2_single_image_size=”w240-h150-p” pe2_img_style=”border:0px; padding-top:5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 5px;” ]A popular market out in the West end of London. Located close to Notting Hill Gate Station. It’s a short walk North of the exit. Here you will find tons of antique shops that open on the street daily. Although, some of them don’t open until the weekend, like the Portobello Green Market which opens up at the end of the street. There are also a few food vendors who don’t open until the weekend as well. You should definitely aim for getting there on a Friday if you can, Saturday and Sunday get quite packed.
At this point in my trip this was probably the largest market I’ve been to thus far. I spent nearly the whole day at these markets and its surrounding areas. I was lucky enough to meet up with some people familiar with the area who showed me around the place. The second you exit the tube station you know that you’re no longer in a typical London we’re so familiar with in Hollywood movies.
The first thing you will notice is the number of tattoo and piercing shops around. Not to mention the number of metal/punk rock folk handing out flyers to invite you to their shops. The market is about a block away from Camden Town station on the Northern Line. The first set of shops you’ll see is the large green sign that say Camden Market. This is only a small piece of the market and the much larger one, Stables Market, is down the street from here. These markets have a very large variety of things. You’ll find everything from old antique chests, mirrors, shoes, clothing, statues, dolls, posters, old records, etc.
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This is definitely one of those must see markets here in London. Borough Market is located underneath the rail station at London Bridge Station. You can get there by taking the subway (aka metro, underground, tube). After exiting the station it is actually pretty hard to miss the place. The smell of barbecue is really strong. So just follow your nose; or a map. Continue Reading
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Here’s a shot of all my luggage for the trip; it’s super light and all carry-on! My main bags are a Kata 3in1-33 and a Boston bag from Muji. I’ve also packed two empty ones as well. A large duffel bag from REI in New York City and a Lowepro Passport.
My Boston bag was basically filled with clothes and some toiletries. I’ve also packed a couple spare batteries for my headphones and mouse. The much larger bag, Kata, has one row dedicated to some camera gear which houses, a Canon 60D, a 50 mm lens, a 17-50 mm lens, a hard drive, and a microphone. The bottom half I dumped some extra clothes. In the top half of the bag I stuffed it with all the usual electronics, a notebook, and some pens. I also have a few adapters for UK outlets, and brought one for the rest of Europe in case I leave the island. All-in-all the bag isn’t too heavy. I think I weighed it in at about 18 lbs. The Boston bag is super light with basically only clothes.
Now the empty bags. The duffel is awesome for when you’re returning. You can basically dump all your laundry into it and maybe stuff it with some delicates in between. Basically, you don’t add much extra weight on your way there, but when you head back you can load almost double the amount of stuff coming back, if you choose to buy a lot of stuff. I only really brought 4 days worth of clothes so I’ll probably buy a couple pieces to fill in a couple extra days. The Lowepro bag is great for day-to-day usage around any place you’re visiting. It’s a simple sling that’s super comfortable to use with your camera if you plan on taking a lot of photos around the city. It even has a lot of extra storage to fit all your daily necessities.
So, that’s 4 bags, 2 full, 2 empty, a total weight of roughly 25 lbs, all as carry-on. This means no waiting in line to check-in (assuming you check-in online), and no waiting for your luggage at the carousel for hours when you land. I need to catch a cheap bus to the city and it departs one hour after my flight lands, so I need to make sure I can make it on time. It’s called EasyBus for those interested in looking at frugal ways to leave Gatwick Airport.
