Friday in London: The adventure continues! This morning my destination was the Bermondsey Market to see if it was a good place to bring the ladies that are coming shopping with me in April. I took the train to Tower Hill and walked across the Tower Bridge - for the first time! It was really cool! The sun came out and it was gorgeous!
I know Londoners are pretty opinionated about their skyline - and they keep building these ultra-modern buildings! Is it in defiance over all the ancient buildings everywhere? I'd rather see something more fitting with the old style buildings myself!
The market was a bit sad looking - maybe because it is still winter? I did manage to find a silver charm for my charm bracelet for 12 pounds. I love that the door opens and there is a little phone inside the box.
From there I decided to head over to the Portobello Road Market and see if there was anything going on there, even though the Market is on Saturday. I remembered someone saying that those in the know go on Friday and tourists go on Saturday. Well, I don't know what they were talking about because there were very few tables set up. It was fun to walk down the street without the crush of shoppers and actually see the shops. The only thing I bought here was a cupcake (yum!!) at Hummingbird Bakery.
After doing quite a bit of walking around the area, I took the train to Westminster to see Big Ben and all.
The sun couldn't decide if it would stay out or not - I love the lighting on these photos - taken with my iPhone.
I'm amazed at the detail a camera phone is able to capture! From there I walked over to Trafalgar Square past the Horse Guards buildings. I didn't have the energy to walk all the way down the Mall to Buckingham Palace. A zoom in with the lens would have to do this time.
After a rest in the cafe in the National Gallery, I walked to Leicester Square to see if there were any good half price theatre tickets at the TKTS booth. They had a single seat in the center section, 9 rows from the stage, for Billy Elliot, so I now had plans for the evening!
For the couple hours I had until show time, I walked up Regent St. to Oxford Circus and up Oxford St. going in and out of shops - Uniqlo (love the collaboration with Greengate from Denmark, Anthropologie, Topshop, back in Liberty again, and John Lewis. Look at the coin purse I found there...
Don't you think I need this?? I was going to go back and get it and I forgot. I hope they still have it when I'm back in April!
I was starting to drag, so I took the train to Victoria Station to go to the theatre for the show. I've always heard great things about Billy Elliot. For so long, you couldn't get tickets to it in NYC without paying a hefty premium and now I'm glad I didn't see it there. It just seems like the kind of play to be seen in London with British actors. Of course, their accents were so strong that there were times I didn't understand what they were saying but I understood enough to cry - I could even cry right now thinking about it. The boy who plays Billy is simply amazing. His talent at both acting and dancing for being just a kid - it was powerful. I'm so glad I saw it.
For the encore, the miners and the dancers do a tap dance and don tu-tus. It was pretty funny but again - amazing!
When I got back to my hotel room I went to shut the curtains and saw a little treat out my 27th floor window...
Fireworks! Just for me. :)
Sounds like it was a wonderful day in spite of the two market areas now being up to snuff. I"m so glad you got to see Billy Elliot. Hope you had a good sleep and today is going well.
Posted by: Deb J | February 16, 2013 at 02:58 PM
Oh my goodness! I love the picture with all the globes in it! Your charm is just adorable, And the lighting with the park and Big Ben behind is amazing! What a fabulous day of exploration! :)
Posted by: Joey | February 16, 2013 at 03:12 PM
I am AMAZED at all the ground you covered in one day... wow! Your April trip will be fabulous.
Posted by: Peggy | February 16, 2013 at 03:34 PM
If I get a chance to go to Uniqlo, I'll see if I can get the purse for you...I might get one too...my Mom always used to find pennies when she was out...now when I find them, I feel like they're from her... :)
Posted by: Amy | February 16, 2013 at 03:37 PM
Amy, the Pennies from Heaven wallet is from John Lewis on Oxford St. I'll check to see if they have it when I go back in April. Thanks though!!
Posted by: Debby Schuh | February 17, 2013 at 01:59 AM