London, Day 4

I like outdoor markets.  I like the sunshine and fresh air, I like the small business-y feel of it, I like perusing the various things people are selling, I like rummaging around in racks of secondhand clothes and finding old books with worn covers, I like finding surprising treasures amidst all the random objects for sale.  Even if I don't buy anything, I like walking through outdoor markets.  So going to the Portobello Road Market, one of the biggest outdoor markets in London, was a highlight for me.  A and I went on a Friday, the Market's second busiest day, and spent at least two-and-a-half hours strolling from street to street, taking it all in.  It stretched over seven blocks, maybe more, and contained dozens of vendors selling everything from clothing to antique books to falafel and pita bread.  The different types of vendors were organized onto various streets: food carts on one street, clothing tents on another, odds and ends (bric-a-brac as the English call it) on another.  Things being sold included jewelry, clothes, books, black-and-white photos, military/camo apparel, alpaca wool scarves, vinyl records, leather journals, pocketknives, old-fashioned cameras, tourist-y souvenirs, artwork, baby onesies, handknit dog sweaters, pocket watches, shoes, tea sets, dish sets, top hats, hat pins, cuff links, and bowties.  You could clothe a small village using only stuff from the market.  

A and I wandered through the street, browsing through anything that caught our eye.  The sun was so hot I felt like I was boiling in my own skin, and although the market wasn't busy when we arrived at about ten, it soon became packed with people.  The sidewalks were the favored spots to walk because they were shaded while the street was in the full glare of the sun, so everybody packed onto the sidewalks, leaving barely any room to shuffle along.  

We ate lunch at the market.  The food section was fantastic.  There were so many vendors and they were all so diverse: food from Pakistan, China, South Korea, and more.  I was also super hungry by the time I started looking for lunch, so that didn't make deciding on a meal any easier.  I wanted to eat everything.  It all looked and smelled delicious.  I eventually decided on South Korean rice noodles with mushrooms and chicken.  It was very good.  

After spending the morning in the market and the heat, A and I wanted somewhere quiet and cool to relax, so we went to the Guildhall Art Gallery.  We rode the Tube to a station nearby the gallery and walked the rest of the way.  

I had never heard of Guildhall before, but I really liked it.  It was very quiet and calm and cool and, even better, it was free!  We started perusing the artwork on our own, but then a small tour group passed by and the tour guide invited us to join them, so we did.  He had a lot of interesting things to say about the paintings we passed, and I learned some new historical tidbits.

The basement of Guildhall contained remains of a Roman amphitheater.  There were ruins of curving stone walls and, under glass panels in the floor, two remaining timber chutes which were used to drain water if water had been used in the games or to clean the arena floor.  A neon green hologram was thrown up on the wall to show what the amphitheater might've looked like in its full form, comlete with glowing green human figures running or fighting.

We also saw another treasure of the museum: a copy of the Magna Carta.  The writing of it was so elegant and pretty.  

The museum also had plenty of paintings of course along with some ceramic tiles and pottery.  They were featuring an exhibition of artwork blending math and art.  I didn't understand it all, surprise surprise, but the artwork was pretty.  Altogether the museum was quite enjoyable, and I'm glad we got to go.