So today was our first day of true London weather.... which is rain, rain and
clouds. But it worked out okay. Dawn woke us up at around 9am, and we got
ready to head off to Camden Market. The market was really original. Walking
in, it is mainly punk stores all advertising for tattoos and piercings, but when
you get to the booths it isn't like that at all. The rain was a little
annoying, but we pulled up our hoods and braved it.

There were honestly hundreds of booths set up, all selling little trinkets and
souvenirs. Some in which were extremely original, others that were complete
"rubbish" as the Brits would say. But the market was a good experience,
Meredith and I aren't really in the position to be spending a whole lot of
money. So we just browsed, while Dawn bought an adorable clock necklace.

The market was also filled with tons of food booths from EVERY imaginable
country, and boy did they smell delicious! There was also a fish pedicure
booth, where you sit and let little fish eat the dead skin off your feet. I
thought it was utterly disgusting. After spending an hour or so browsing around
the market we made our way to Brick Lane.

On our way to Brick Lane, we had to go through Kings Cross, which is where
PLATFORM 9 & 3/4 IS! This was the only thing Meredith and I really wanted to
see :) And we were afraid that we were not going to be able to get to it
because of the construction. We found Platform 9, but Meredith and I didn't
have enough money on our Oyster Cards to get through. So we added another 10
pound and went to find it.

Only to find out it was on the other side of the construction. So we had to tap
out, and go to the other side. So basically we waited 1.8 Pound. We got to the
correct side of Platform 9 and found the cart :) There were other taking
pictures, so we waited our turn and then took our pictures! It was truly a
great moment, because so far all of London has reminded me of is Harry Potter.
(Which by the way, Meredith and I are getting excellent at our British accents,
we practice quite frequently).

We wandered around Brick Lane and went into a little record store, for Dawn to
pick up the Black Keys record. Meredith and I let our feet have a little rest
and just sat and watched everyone (which could be an adventure in itself). Dawn
bought some Moroccan food from a street vender, which had an amazing smell, but
contained meat, so big no no for me. We also went into some really cute
clothing stores. Meredith and I decided that we are going to come back to just
London and simply shop. Because the clothes are absolutely amazing!

After Brick Lane we hopped back on the tube towards Trafarlger's Square. This
is where all the movies are premiered, which Sex & the City just premiered on
Thursday night, and all the stars were out promoting it. It was fun to look
around and then we headed into the National Portrait Galley.

We were more interested in the photography and modern exhibits, so that is what
we mainly stuck to. We accidentally wandered into one of the older exhibits and
Meredith got bored and sat down, followed by Dawn. When I walked up to them
Dawn started talking about the Sex & the City premier on Thursday. When I
commented that I would have liked to of came out to that to see the stars Dawn
gave me a horrible look and started kicking Meredith. I was totally confused.
Then she whispered in my ear, that Mr. Big (the main guy from Sex & the City)
walked right past me. It was absolutely crazy timing. This is also my first
celebrity sighting, so I was pretty excited about that :)

We tried to stalk him a little, but I couldn't get a picture of him. Then we
decided to leave. When leaving one of us said "I can't believe we just saw BIG"
and then he walked right by us again... it was crazy..

Then I started saying "Robert Pattison, and Eclipse" hoping that he would
magically walk by like what happened with Big... but no such luck :(

After our Big encounter, we left the gallery and walked through China Town. I
was a little disappointed in how much Chinese I have already forgotten since the
beginning of May :(

Then we decided that we were hungry and tired, so decided to head back to
Romford. A lot of the train and tube lines are closed down for the Bank
Holiday, so we had to take a different way back. Luckily Dawn was with us, and
navigated us easily. I have a feeling Meredith and I would have wound up lost
without her.

On our way home we stopped by Morison's (the grocery store) and picked up some
tortilni, bread and wine to cook dinner. Which we just finished and now we are
going to plan Paris! Because we get there on Tuesday!

Tomorrow we are doing the south bank walk and then heading to Shakespeare's
Globe Theater for a production of Macbeth :)

-brooke.