Day 3: From east to west

Apparently the excess of food and drink did worse for our sleep than the fabulous company and conversation did for our souls because there was no 10+ hour kips for us.  I was lucky to manage about 5 hours before I gave up and went for a run. (Yes, that is a dumb cure for insomnia but that’s how my brain works.) Frank managed another hour or so of dozing before I woke him up buzzing to get back in from my saunter around Hyde Park.

We spent the usual stupidly long period of time with tea and coffee and yoghurt and muesli before bathing and heading out for our final day in London.  Since we are not strangers to the city and have done most of the major tourist attractions before, some multiple times, we wanted to do something not necessarily on Frommer’s list of top 10 things to do in London. So we headed east to see how many of London’s famed street markets we could do before collapsing.  (Astute travelers who know we are staying near Paddington will realize that this means that Portobello Road market was not on the agenda.  Bednobs and Broomsticks fan that I am, it wasn’t to be today.)

So we took the tube to Liverpool street where several of the markets are nearby.  Of course, it is the most confusing train station in the entire city and it took us 20 minutes to figure out how to get out of the maze of office parks and concrete “open space” and just get to a street where we could figure out where we are. Petticoat Lane and Spitalfields market were our targets but because they were just setting up for the day, we took a detour back into the heart of the City of London for one of my favorite tourist attractions: stained glass windows. I had read a blog post about the Guildhall and St. Lawrence Jewry and the window there and was surprised by what I found. The St. Lawrence Jewry was “re-built” by Sir Christopher Wren after the original building, which had stood for nearly 900 years, was burned down in 1666. This was one of 52 churches, including St. Paul’s, that he helped rebuild after the Great Fire. We were there as a quartet was rehearsing for a lunchtime concert so we got stained glass, chamber music, and a mosaics display by local artists.  Fabulous!

Across the square is the Guildhall where the business of the City of London has taken place for centuries.  The foundations of the building date back to 1411 and the Lord Mayor of the City of London (the one square mile that is the City not just the city) holds meetings and all business for the City is conducted there.  Each Lord Mayor is elected for a one year term and after they step down, their name is etched in one of the stain glass windows.  There are more than 800 names so far with room for more.  The chief of security for the building gave us an impromptu overview of the history of the building.  Well worth a stop if you are in the City.

Then it was time for the markets!  Lunch at a Greek restaurant in Spitalfields was lovely (GF marked all over the menu!) and then we wandered through the stalls.  This was traditionally a fruit and vegetable market but has now become a haven for trendier clothing items.  Frank found the leather satchel he’s been wanting since Jesse stole his favorite carryon bag.  For a mere £105, he got a great leather satchel, “hand made in Kilmarnock” from bison leather.  I’ll make sure to find those Ayrshire bison when I next visit!  Then down the road to Petticoat Lane which is actually on Middlesex Road.  The name of the road changed but not the name of the market.  This is the textile area of the city and every other store is filled with reams and reams of fabric.  The market is at its height on Sundays but I still scored a top quality black embroidered jacket for £2 pound! A quick wander through Leadenhall Market for old time’s sake and we were back on the tube.

Still not marketed out, we headed up north the the mother of all street markets: Camden Locks. I had been there before but apparently hadn’t seen a fraction of the place.  I’m still not sure I have.  This place is sort of like Canal Street meets Carnaby Street – lots of cheap knockoffs among international food stands with goth and punk attire all around.  It’s based around the the locks on the Regents Canal and this afternoon being the Friday before a bank holiday weekend, the place was jumping.  I found some lovely earrings and matching necklace and we grabbed a few drinks and had a breather before heading out for the evening’s entertainment:  the theater!

So back to the west end we went.  We had a lovely meal at Jackson and Rye just off Shaftesbury Avenue and, having a window seat, were treated to a teaming sea of humanity that was nearly the entertainment highlight of the day.  But we had tickets to see a showing of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” which did eventually triumph.  I loved the book and was really excited to see how they staged it as a play.  And I was not disappointed.  (Jesse, I challenge you to read the book and then I will buy you a ticket to see the show on Broadway.  I’m dying to hear your take on the set.)

Then we herded back onto the Underground and back to the flat.  I used to think that the tube at rush hour was the most crowded place on the planet. Now I think it’s the Leicester Square platform for the Piccadilly Line after the theater lets out.

Today’s numbers:

• Outdoor markets visited: 4
• Local brews sampled (Frank): 2
• Miles run (San): enough
• Steps: 21, 577 (9.29 miles)

And tomorrow, we head south west!