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random delights  •  markets  •  liberty  •  museums   •   at night  •  bunny & cotgrave  •  newark fair  •  brighton

On a week night like the one shown here, crowds at the Camden Market, near Regent's Canal, were hardly sparse, but they were nothing compared to the crush we experienced when we returned on the weekend.

In the Camden market, narrow lanes, some covered like this one, others open, are bursting with all manner of shops.

Borough Market, in the Southwark neighborhood near the Tower Bridge, was more food-centric than the Camden Market. This was perfectly suited to our need for lunch after a morning of walking along the Thames.

Surely, there were plenty of tourists like us in the Borough Market on the day we visited, but, there also seemed to be many regular Londoners getting their groceries. From the looks of things, they had plenty to choose from.

It was in the Borough Market that Julie introduced me to a Jewish delicacy that has somehow evaded me until now — the salt beef bagel. We rabidly devoured our bagel on a terrace along with the other of carnivorous market shoppers.

We returned to Camden on the weekend, after our trip to Newark. There, we purchased a gorgeous suede jacket for Julie, at a groovy mod shop we'd seen or our first visit to the market. As Julie had predicted, the weekend crowds were thick.

Also after Newark, we returned to Brick Lane. Prior to Newark, our time on Brick Lane was at night when the shops were closed. This time, we were there for vintage, and Brick Lane's many vintage shops were open for business.

Pictured here is a particularly groovy vintage shop on Brick Lane. Look under the red wings to see a cute English girl. Her vintage outfit, her pose, and her porcelain skin make her look like a mannequin, and I was surprised when I saw her move.

A really animated and pleasant art guy was selling his combination of photographs and scrabble pieces. Rather touristy, yes, but I thought his work was clever and that it was cool that he was playing funky music a bit too loudly.

This is the Spitalfields Market in East London. It was here that Julie had several serious scores on cashmere sweaters, including one for me! And it was here that I had a lovely chat with a seller and musician about Minneapolis and Prince.

My happy take on the markets we visited is: Brick Lane was perfectly scruffy and vintage-centric. Camden was a touch touristy but had great suede jackets and thumb rings. Borough had food and funky authenticity. Spitalfields was modern, practical, covered and comfortable.

markets

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random delights  •  markets  •  liberty  •  museums   •   at night  •  bunny & cotgrave  •  newark fair  •  brighton