After a full week of traveling, I finally got to enjoy a full weekend back in London. I have to say, I missed it a bit. I guess it’s starting to feel like home. Last Saturday, two friends and I decided to explore the market scene in the city. To start off, we took the Tube to Camden Town, where one of the most famous markets in London is!
This place was full of curiosities such as vintage shops, handcrafted jewelry, concept stores, and record shops. We spent nearly three hours just walking through the different stalls carried on by all sorts of merchants. Our favorite shop was a vintage stall with the greatest collection of fashion books I’d ever seen. Fashion books on history, famous designers, fashion during the war, shoes and accessories, YOU NAME IT! Any book related to fashion could be found in that tiny spot in the enormous Camden Market.
My absolute favorite part, however, was the street food. If you’re looking for good food trucks and diverse street food in London, this is definitely the place to be! Surrounding one of the old boat docks are food stands with flavors from all over the world. I had finally decided to go for a delicious bowl of homemade mac and cheese with garlic dough balls and, just when I was about to order, I realized that right next to it, there was a food stall selling delicious Venezuelan arepas with plantains. Arepas are maize dough patties stuffed with ingredients such as beef, chicken, avocado, pico de gallo, beans, and many more.
“Una arepa con platanos, por favor!”! (“An arepa with plantain fries, please!”)
“Eres venezolana?” (“Are you venezuelan?”)
“No, soy puertorriqueña, pero tenemos una cocina similar!” (No, I’m Puerto Rican, but we have a similar cuisine!”)
I was so happy to taste Caribbean flavors after so long! One of the many perks of the diversity of culture that exists in London: you’re surrounded with people coming from all these different places around the world, yet you still find your own to identify with.
After enjoying this delicious meal, and exploring the market. We went to Portobello Road Market, the most famous vintage and antique market located in Notting Hill. Here, we enjoyed the England vs. Belgium game, and then proceeded to our last thrifting errands. As well as in Camden Market, all sorts of curiosities seemed to be found in this cluttered place. I found a copy of Coco Chanel’s biography, written by Edmonde Charles-Roux, for only £5!
It felt good to be home and, even after a month here, there’s so much of the city yet to see! I hope the rest of my weekend “shenanigans” are as good as this one!
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