Sunday, February 01, 2009

Portobello Road

Getting hung up all day on smiles
Walking down portobello road for miles
Greeting strangers in indian boots,
Yellow ties and old brown suits
Growing old is my only danger

Cuckoo clocks, and plastic socks
Lampshades of old antique leather
Nothing looks weird, not even a beard
Or the boots made out of feathers


- Cat Stevens

I love open markets, and when in London I make sure to visit the many many open markets that are here.

Camden and Greenwich have been my favourite so far, but today I happened to visit the very famous Portobello road market :)

Its a fantastic place. From what I had heard of it, I was expecting it to be great, yet, I was not prepared for what I found there. 2-3 miles of open market, selling anything and everything under the sun.

Just the most fantastic of books, maps, gas masks from the II WW, food, London souvenirs, binoculars, telescopes, old cameras, masks, miniature musical instruments, scarves, cricket bats signed by Len Hutton, old style footballs, boxing gloves...

Phew! the list is never ending.

The market itself is right in Notting Hill (yes, same place as the movie), The best thing I liked about this place was this store that sold metal plates of old advertisements, street signs etc

Portobello road, as I saw it, was divided into 3 sections, the fashion market, where clothes and accessories were being sold, the antiques market, where all kinds of antiques were on offer and the food market, where one could buy fruits or fresh bread, hot dogs, sausages, corn pasties or the good 'ol hot chocolate.

Here are some pictures that I managed to get :)


Typical London Street Sign


Quaint buildings


Just before it got crowded


err the crowd pours in...


Boxing equipment for sale !


Jugs, Mugs, Pots and Pans


Satchels, Uniforms and Gas Masks!


I got a beautiful bus from this store, last piece they had :)


Yes you did! Scrabble tiles painted on a wall :)


The store I liked best !! brilliant



That's all folks!

p.s: Its going to snow tomorrow apparently *rubs hands in anticipation*

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

hehe scrabble and bookstore....Love you for that