I Came, I Saw, I Was Cold

Today, I decided to wander over to Brick Lane for the market and for the 24hr REAL bagel shop. If you're wondering, REAL bagels are boiled. British bagels are baked bread. The market is in a slightly sketchier part of town. When I was approaching the market at first, I only saw a bunch of tarps and some guy spray-painting graffiti on a nearby wall (no one ever took notice of him). The stalls sold a lot of garage-sale-type wares but there were a few fruit stands interspersed. It was really sketchy, and I don't know if I'd want to be in the neighborhood at night.

The bagel shop was really cool. You could watch them making bagels and a plain bagel was only £0.20 (£0.90 with cream cheese). The store was already bustling when I got there a little after 9AM. I got a bagel with cream cheese for myself and a plain bagel to bring back to Abbey. I don't think the British quite understand cream cheese, as it tasted much more like ricotta cheese. When I first took a bite, I couldn't quite figure out what was wrong, but after a couple bites (and I'd recognized the difference in cream cheese), I enjoyed the ricotta taste quite a bit.

I walked around the stalls for a bit while I ate my bagel, and I took a video for the blog (only to later realize that I apparently had not pressed the 'Record' button hard enough -- but I now have a nice video of the inside of my purse).

Many of the shops on Brick Lane were closed, and there were a large number of international (especially Asian) stores. I stopped in at an "International Grocery Store" to try to find a drink, but I couldn't really find anything of interest and the smell of incense was a bit overpowering.

The real Brick Lane Market appeared to be in this large warehouse, but when I got there, most of the stalls were still setting up and there was nothing that particularly interested me. There were several appealing food stands, but I'd just eaten and I was holding out on lunch until the Russian festival. Since most of the shops of Brick Lane were closed for Sunday, I decided to cut down a side street to get me back to the Liverpool Street Station, and in the process of doing so, I walked right into the Spitalfields Market.

I enjoyed the Spitalfields Market a lot more than Brick Lane's. There were a lot of cool clothing shops and knitwears. At times, I could smell a wood-burning fire, and the neighborhood itself was very quaint. There were a lot of art prints and posters, and I ended up getting a really cheap print (posters are SO MUCH cheaper here!).



The graffiti artist, "Banksy", is apparently really popular, and it's easy to find prints of his work almost anywhere in London. I've been wanting to get a London-y poster for my room, so I ended up getting the print above. They didn't have my favorite (see below -- I've only seen it once, and it was on canvas).



I continued on to the Liverpool Street Station and walked past the Petticoat Lane Market. This market is a lot like San Lorenzo in Florence. There's lots of cheap clothing and a plethora of chintzy London souvenirs. A couple older ladies were trying to pawn off good-luck flowers to passerby, and the stalls seemed to stretch on forever. As I didn't really need anything else, I only walked around for a bit before catching the 48 bus to London Bridge Station.


Petticoat Lane Market, From Afar

I decided to swing by the Russian festival, even though I was very early. First of all, when I arrived, it was just me, a few sketchy Russian guys, and a large group of Japanese tourists. Sure, I was a bit early. But the stage was completely set up and a band was performing. There didn't seem to be anyone setting up new stands or activities. There were a few food trucks, but they were not selling Russian food at all. There was even a crepe stand and a cart selling British fare. The only thing that made it remotely Russian was the fact that their menus also boasted a Russian translation. I got an awful crepe and watery hot chocolate and ate it on a bench. Some random guy was leaning on a nearby trash can and watching me eat, so I bolted my food and decided to go home. I was cold and tired, and I was a bit skeptical of waiting around for the festivities to get started. It might be fun to go back later, but I have some homework and what not to get done and I don't know if I'll have the time this afternoon.



Based on the number of port-a-potties, the festival is expecting a lot more people later today. Also, on the plus side, there was an amazing view of the Tower Bridge.


The Stage with the Tower Bridge in the Background



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I've been meaning to post this photo for awhile, but I keep forgetting...

The King's College Strand building is a maze. The first week, I spent most of my time trying to find my classrooms. What could possibly make it so confusing? Well, here's a picture of the door to the Computer Science department.