Portobello Market in London

I was sad to leave Paris but our time was up and we had tickets to head back to London. Unfortunately, when I got to London, I was stuck in my room for a couple of days because I wasn't feeling too well. Managed to hobble to watch the Musical 'Lord of the Rings' but had to pop into a cab cuz my ankle just swelled up even more that evening! Thankfully, I got the doctor in and after a few days, I was feeling much better and I was glad cuz I had plans for the weekend!

When I travel on my own, I usually put the weekend aside to visit the local markets or craft markets because I love seeing what each country has to offer. I have blogged about the markets I love going to when I am in Sydney. For this trip, I did a little homework before hand so that I knew where I wanted to go and had to plan ahead. It's always important to check if they open on both Saturdays and Sundays and the timings that they are open for. With those information and a map at hand, I planned my trip for Saturday.

My first stop was the Portobello Market in London. Be prepared to have an early start because if you head there later, you will have to deal with the throngs of people. I was there about 8 plus and it was nice because I had time to walk around leisurely. Take the tube there and it's just about ten minutes walk. I went on my own so it's really that simple!

Photograph below shows how the crowd started to come in by late morning. And when I saw the crowd, I knew it was time for me to head to my next stop. How long do you need here? I reckon at least half the day and have breakfast and lunch there too. Will suggest below what you should have for lunch.

What can you expect at the Portobello Market? Well there are two parts to this market. The first stretch is where you can find awesome antiques. My greatest regret was not knowing alot more about the different things because I was at a disadvantaged there. If you are looking for a vintage watch, jewelry, camera, maps or anything - do your homework first. But I enjoyed walking around and even bought a few sets of English teacup sets for my Mom.

Don't just walk along the street. Go into each 'shop' because inside each shop, you actually have clusters of small stalls for your to check out their wares. It was like a maze but an exciting what because you just cannot tell what you're going to come across! Very exciting!

There's everything for everyone, with whatever budget that you have. There are also trinkets that you can buy back as souveniors for yourself or your loved ones. It looked pretty safe but one of the guys that I bought a silver bracelet from did remind me to make sure I have my belongings are kept safe.

There are also sections of the market where you can get fresh produce and it's just amazingly so colourful seeing the fruits and veggies. There were lots of people doing their grocery shopping too and I can just imagine that if I lived in London, I would probably make a weekly trip there!

When I was there, my nose led me to this stall that was selling paella and I swear, the smell was just beautiful. It wasn't ready because I was there rather early but on my way back to the train station (about lunch time), the paella was all ready and you can choose between chicken or seafood and my regret was not having that because I had something else instead that I have been craving for weeks (what I had will be revealed later in the post). And the beautiful part is that the paella is HALAL!!! Just be prepared to walk and eat at the same time because there's no seats around and people just plonk themselves by the side of the streets and munch away.

I am just drooling look at the pictures and I can even smell how yummy it was now. Anyone has any idea where I can get good paella here in Singapore? Me want some now *sobs*

My advise is don't bother eating anything before heading to Portobello Market. You can find anything there. There are these freshly baked bread and they have cheese and spreads that you can have with the bread. It's as good as packing a picnic from the different stalls there and just go to a corner and eat as you watch the people go by. And if you're on a diet, good luck to you :o)

And if want something sweet or savoury, no problem. Lots to choose from so really got to pace yourself. I suggest walking around first and to check what's available and then pick the ones that you want. My mistake is to buy immediately and usually end up with lots more than I can eat.

You cannot be in London and not have their jam donuts. MUST HAVE. Write it down and make sure you get yourself some good ones like the ones below. Don't bother with the ones pre-packed from the supermarket. Get the freshly made ones cuz they are the best!

More snapshots of the antiques that are available. I am not sure if these dolls are vintage ones so you really need to ask. Most of the sellers are willing to share what they know.

I was contemplating bringing these two tin vehicles home but I didn't have very much space in my luggage anymore plus I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. They were also a lil rusty and I didn't know anyone who could fix it. But if I had my own place, I think I would have been able to convince myself why I SHOULD get them *laughs*

As you walk away from the antique session, you will come across another section of the market that has knick knacks and more recent or modern buys. What attracted me to take this picture was how the colourful bangles look awesome together.

You can buy anything and you see alot of things that came from Asia. Lots of souveniors so if you have not bought what you need, this could be the place to get them. I walked by pretty quickly but am glad I didn't skip it.

Why? Because I came across an eatery owned by a Malaysian and after weeks of craving, I finally had my nasi padang. Plus they had a clean loo so it worked out great for me.

This was what I had - ayam masak merah (chicken cooked in tomato and chilli gravy), sayur ubi masak lemak (veggies cooked in coconut milk) and sambal terung (brinjal or eggplant fried and coated in chilli). I asked the boys at the counter which were the spicy ones and they pointed to the chicken so I had to get it. Was it good, yes it was but the portions were huge and I couldn't finish it all. Cost wise? Expensive. This cost me GBP6.50.

Now you know why I couldn't have the paella cuz I was too full from the nasi padang. Wished I could but I still had a few more markets to go so didn't want to fill up so quickly.

As I walked to the train station to head to the next market, I came across this pizzeria where they had this cute car as part of their deco. Very cool!

Where did I go next, look out for my next post. It was a great day indeed! :o)