Had lots of fun with Daniel. The silly boy booked his train back for Sunday morning, so we really only had Friday night and Saturday to do stuff. We ended up going back to this one bar/club that I'd been to before that didn't have cool music. But this time it did! It was like classic 80's, soundtrack hits, and rap (think Flashdance, Ton Loc, Pet Shop Boys). We danced until we were drenched and we went up on stage! It was awesome!
The next day we were being kind of lazy. It was yucky and cold out, so we went to Border's and looked at some books. I know, I know--BORDER'S?? But there was really no alternative. I got the book Slumdog Millionaire (the movie looks great too, and the plot is actually really interesting). It's about this kid from the streets of Mumbai who answers game show questions right to win a million rupees or something, but then gets thrown in jail under suspicion of cheating, because the police don't believe a kid from the hood could know these things. So the book is him telling the events in his life that led him to know the answer to each question. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it, nerdy as that is.
I had told Daniel about Camden Market, and we both agreed it's the kind of place our Austin friends would love. So I had to show it to him--it was just as cool the second time. We got these warm, hand-rolled cinnamon sugar donuts from a little booth, then walked around trying not to get caught taking pictures of all the bizarre people. Here are some visuals, as promised!
the whole Camden High Street is filled with shops and booths that sprawl onto the street.
There's also a little canal that runs along it.
But the real show is in the intricate maze of
covered stalls:
There are hundreds of vendors, and even though you're technically outside the whole
time you feel like you're inside because of
the awnings. Here's an intersection of several
aisles of stalls, with a mini food court:
The foods are usually ethnic, and people yell at you and try to get you to sample them.
Check out this bloke's dreadlocks. NEON!!
There's a bizarre store called Cyberdog where the mannequins are robots, the outfits are only
wearable in a Marilyn Manson-meets-Jetsons
music video, and the whole store has black lights.
Here I am examining some rockin' neon wrist
spikes made out of rubber:
and here is a crucified teddy bear... on a hat... yeah.
I'm not sure if this video will work or not, but it's a brief clip of Camden Town from early morning, through the set up of stalls, and into the shopping hours...
It's pretty much EXACTLY like that!
Shannon and Abby met some American guys who are neighbors of ours and went out with them that night, but we didn't think it was a good idea to push it since Daniel had a train in the morning. We're trying to plan a trip to Amsterdam, maybe, plus more stuff in London.
I just found out they have a Museum of Design and a textiles museum, including the national collection of wallpaper (??). So I'm looking forward to checking those out, and I'm trying real hard to convince Daniel to see Phantom of the Opera with me at Her Majesty's Royal Theatre. It's expensive, but c'mon--it's Phantom! It's London!
This Friday Abby, Shannon, and I are going to WALES for the weekend! Yay! At first I wasn't too sure about spending the money, but the pictures look amazing. It kind of reminds me of Ireland in terms of its beautiful countryside and the fact that Welsh signs look kind of like Gaelic. We'll be staying Cardiff, a bay city in the South of Wales, and then journeying inland to visit Caerphilly Castle (I wonder if it's pronounced 'carefully.' that would be pretty funny). Take a gander:
above: Cardiff Bay & shots of the city below: Caerphilly Castle, complete with mote
and medieval warfare devices!
Hope you guys like the playlist. It's pretty eclectic...just like my own iTunes. The artists are all British if not from London. I tried to pick songs that were either about London or had noticeable London singing accents, because I get a kick out of that. People like Kate Nash and Lily Allen are Indie/Pop, and they along with Estelle (R&B) are some of the newest artists to come out of England and gain popularity in America. The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Jam were part of the British punk wave (which originated in Camden Town!). They along with the Pet Shop Boys are noted for singing with their British accents, in order to make a statement during a time when other artists emulated American accents. The Thompson Twins and Flock of Seagulls were major imports in the 'Second British Invasion' of music in America. There are a couple of extremely old songs in there, too. Ask if you have a question about an artist or the relevance/origin of a song and I'll try to answer it. Because I'm just that much of a dork!
I'll keep you updated, as usual. Miss you all!
Slumdog = fabs movie. The girl in it is gar-geous (a la Joe from Bend It Like Beckham). I haven't read the book, though.
ReplyDeleteHave fun in Wales!