My second day in London was the last day of 2014, and there was much to do before the new year began. After enjoying the included breakfast at my hotel, Mentone Hotel in Cartwright Gardens, I headed to the Tube with my friend Annalee to start the day’s adventures.
As a note, if you’re only visiting London for a few days, your best options for low cost and low hassle tubing are either (1) getting a temporary Oyster card or (2) getting a off-peak day pass in the AM that will serve you the whole day. It depends on how many days you are staying. 0-4 I would suggest day passes, 5+ a temporary Oyster card.
Today, we spent the morning at the Camden Town market. Though we are both huge fans of London’s markets and have been to some several times (Old Spitalfields, Portobello Road, Covent Garden’s Apple Market, etc), neither of us had experienced Camden Town before. After a quick ride to Chalk Farm on the Northern Line (we wanted to start at the top by the true market and work our way down to the Camden Town station), we were ready to spend a gorgeous morning enjoying a new market.
What sets Camden Town market apart from the other markets I mentioned? Size. Though the market runs through several different areas (a lock-side building, underground tunnels, street food, boutiques, and open air areas) and different names, the market as a whole is a cohesive experience and seemingly endless. Even the large Old Spitalfields doesn’t even come close to the area of the Camden Town market.
Speaking of Old Spitalfields however, after several hours at the Camden Town market we had a very important errand to run for Annalee- checking out the new sensation in that edgy-chic area, the Cereal Killers cafe. I feared a Georgetown Cupcake-like situation (if anyone has been to Georgetown in Washington, DC, you might know that the Georgetown Cupcake always has a line outside of it because it was part of a TV show), but was happy to go back to the area anyway for the vintage shops, grungy feel (in my ungrungy opinion at least), Rough Trade, and a coffee break. My afternoon fika, obligatory when traveling, was long overdue.
I also didn’t mind getting a quick, closer view of the Gherkin as we emerged from the Liverpool Street station. After a brief walk, we realized that alas, Cereal Killers did in fact have a line outside of it. After a few snaps of Annalee outside the cafe, we were more than happy to find a place of lesser fame. After popping into a few vintage shops, including an old favorite of mine that I won’t name but always has a great selection of vintage flight attendant bags from various airlines (I think it would be so cool to have a vintage PanAm style bag as my carry-on), we were ready to enjoy some crepes at Old Spitalfields. Unfortunately, as it was New Year’s Eve, they had closed while we were on our cereal misadventure. Eventually we settled on the less unique but still excellent Patisserie Valerie for tea, eclairs, and wifi. We had a New Year’s Eve to continue planning!
Look for my next post on my New Year’s Eve in London!
Photos: Emmie Derbäck, Nikon 3200, 135mm lens
Read about the other days of my trip below:
- My holiday travel preview: Florida, Stockholm, London
- Utlandssvensk i Sverige: I Uppsala Igen [Back to Uppsala, Sweden]
- Uttlandsvensk i Stockholm: Gamla Stan, Djurgården, Riddarholmen
- #StockholmsJul: Ljus och dekorationer runt stan [Christmas in Stockholm City]
- A return traveler’s guide to London: Day 1
- A return traveler’s guide to London: New Year’s Eve
- A return traveler’s guide to London: Day 3
- A return traveler’s guide to London: Last Day
anchored & adrift 