My favorite market (so far)

If there is one thing that I've learned in my time in London it is that these Brits like a good market.  There seems to be a street market on almost every block.  I've spent the better part of the past few weekends exploring the different markets.  For the most part, they all sell food, crafts, flowers, and, of course, junk.  But they all have a different feel.  I spent yesterday exploring Portobello Road Market.

Portobello Road Market (hell, I'm calling it PRM from now on.  It's too long to write the full name) is a short tube ride away in Notting Hill (by the way, tube rides are just like el rides except I saw cute little mice, not massive, disgusting rats).  Once out of the tube station, the directions said to follow the crowds to the market.  Unfortunately, the crowds didn't know where they were going, so I had 3 separate groups of people ask me where to go.  It was a bit like the blind leading the blind.  It wasn't that hard to find, but I just got distracted staring at the houses.  The area is adorable.  It has a lot of row houses (you know I'm a fan of those) and it just very quaint.  Very neighborhoody.

Once I found the market,  I was a happy camper.  It was chilly, but sunny out and it wasn't too horribly crowded.  By the time I left, though, it was wall to wall people (forgive the tilted angle of this picture, but I got bumped by someone while taking it).

PRM is known for its antiques, but it also has an area with new designers selling jewelry and all sorts of other things.  I'm not into antiques, but seeing some of the old china patterns, silver patterns, etc. was pretty cool.  There were also some stalls selling old school hardcover books that were beautiful (if my luggage didn't already cost me a fortune to ship over, I'd buy a whole bunch of books to ship back because they were so pretty).  I ended up buying a handful of things including a little brass sign that says "LOO", which I think will look cute in my house, and a old silver tea box, which I'm using to hold some jewelry.

London in general is all about street food and PRM is no exception.

Sadly, I wasn't hungry while I was there, so I didn't get anything to eat, but I did get three yummy rounds of cheese for later.  I think I'm going to weigh 400 lbs. when I get back because I keep buying the cheese.  How do I pass up a bunch of stinky cheese for £5?

I wish I could pinpoint what made PRM my favorite so far.  I think it was the combination of old, new and the neighborhood.  Either way, I'm sure I will be back.