Seeking Markets - Angel and Whitechapel

*This post is about 2 months delayed due to some very bad relationship management from a sponsor.  Therefore, this post is not sponsored.* 

What happens to the streets of London that are normally filled with commuters making their way into Central London or The City on the weekend? Markets, that's what.

I finally walked through Chapel Market in Angel in my beautiful borough of Islington (I don't think I will ever live in another borough!!).  Chapel Market has beautiful fruits and veg, various bits and bobs of jewellery, shoes, clothes and...bed mattresses? It's borderline car boot sale mixed with a farmers' market and simply good for a wander. What's even better is that this is a short walk, bus or tube ride away from King's Cross.

Sometimes I get a bit sad when I walk through King's Cross or anywhere else in Central and realise that this is the only London that most tourists get to know. There is SO MUCH outside of Zone 1 to see.  When I came here as a tourist I hated London, it seemed like any other big city.  But after living here, I've discovered that there are so many mini-cities in London - it's not what a tourist sees at all.

I like to play a game when I walk/take the bus through London where I 'unlock' levels on the map (hint at my geeky gamer girl past). There's a fork in the road at King's Cross where Caledonian Road takes you North and Pentonville Road takes you North East and straight to Angel.  Once I connected those points, I realised London was a lot easier to navigate without the restrictions of the Tube map.

I later travelled on to Whitechapel to visit some friends, which required me unlocking the Angel to Old Street and Old Street/Liverpool St/Brick Lane (thanks to many a drunken night) to Whitechapel portions of the map. :)

As I normally only go there at night before heading out, I'd never seen the high street at full force. It's decorated with a massive street market in what appears to not even be London anymore save for the shiny Gherkin poking its head above the street signs.

What about you - how do you like to discover cities you visit? 

For the Londoners - which levels of the map have you unlocked? :) 

Seeking Brighton

I was looking through my passport the other week and couldn't believe that I'll have had it for 10 years in 2014! Even more exciting is that for each year I've had my passport there's been at least one country stamped on my rapidly decreasing blank passport pages.  It's no wonder that I made the choice to visit 30 countries by the time I'm 30 when I've completed over 20 of them in my twenties alone.

Well World, so far it seems like 2012 will not be the year of more countries, but rather exploring more of the country that I now call my home.  This is partially a financial choice as I did a decent amount of travelling in 2011 and partially because I don't want to plan a trip out of the country until I get my new visa sorted (a frustrating tale for another post at a later time). And it seems I'm not the only London blogger that's looking for more adventures outside of London but still on the Island. 

I kicked off the first staycation of sorts with the boyfriend on a weekend trip to Brighton.

Brighton Pier, October 2009

I've actually been to Brighton before, during an International Students day trip my Uni did while I was here doing my Master's.  Somehow my boyfriend never made the trip down there in his nearly three decades of living in England, so we hopped a quick £30 return train down.

Day view from The Atlantic Seafront, Brighton

Night view from The Atlantic Seafront, Brighton

We stayed in a fantastically affordable and quite sweet B&B, The Atlantic Seafront, just across the road from the pier - killer views of Brighton.  It's not that big of a town when it comes to attractions and things to see, and in my opinion, it's not worth it to stay in some big fancy hotel.

We paid about £60/night and had a range of breakfast options available, cooked-to-order, in the dining area each morning.

Brighton Wheel, photo taken with Snapseed

There are pretty much three must-see things in Brighton; the pier, the palace and the lanes.

The pier is a crazy mix of a massive penny arcade, an all-season carnival, and a restaurant/bar that's open year-round and stretches over 1,700 feet long.  

Brighton Beach

A beach made completely of rocks is disappointing - although, my hipster photos make it look cooler.

The Royal Pavilion was built for King George IV and looks like it should be in India.

An entrance to the Royal Pavilion, Brighton October 2009

The Lanes pretty much look like the Camden markets, but on hills and fewer angry teens with purple hair. 

Finally, it's not a must-see, but I like seeing things that are a bit different (and free). If you walk along the shore, you'll find a small, dusty room that has cool stuff from Brighton's heyday as a fishing town.  It was quite interesting, but it left me with an allergy attack.

As an added bonus, I got to meet up with an old friend from Ohio that's just moved to Brighton after marrying her tall, dark-haired Englishman - apparently that's how we like 'em in Ohio. :)

Photo courtesy of Ashley :)

I don't really know where to go next, typically at this point I pick a country I haven't seen and book a flight, but I want to keep it a short train ride away.  

Help me trek the path less taken - Do you have any cities in the UK that you would suggest for a great weekend trip?

A Tale of Two Cities

World, I love London.  This should be common knowledge at this point as I wouldn't have studied here, shelled out the mega £££ on visas and started a blog about all the places and things I love about this city.  As of late, however, I've discovered a London I didn't know existed.

Each morning I catch the bus to Finsbury Park station for the Victoria line to work in Central.  The bus comes about every 5 minutes, and only takes 5 minutes to get to the station. If it's running a bit late I walk a part of the way until it shows up or I get to the other station with more busses.  When I get to Finsbury Park, I walk down the tunnel, full-speed typically, to get to the Southbound Victoria line platforms. I know how to time it just right so I can beat the laggers getting of the bus and catch the train as soon as it shows up.  My office is at the centre of Tottenham Court Road so I typically walk (a lovely 10 minutes in the morning) from Warren Street to the office as that's the closet stop on the Victoria line. When all is said and done I can get from N19 to W1T in just under 30 minutes.

On 15th December, I got a little too excited about probably the only Rihanna song I like playing at the Christmas Party


*did you get the same Man Like Me/Ikea ad because ZOMG I love them!

Man Like Me - Glastonbury 2011

See - now I'd like to get up and dance! This song gets me in a good mood - but now I'll only be able to think about slipping on the floor and falling. Falling really fast. Falling really hard. I thought nothing of it; I've danced and taught dance for years. I've sprained, bruised, displaced and twisted more things in my day.

For the following week, each morning I caught the bus to Finsbury Park station for the Victoria line to work in Central.  The bus that comes about every 5 minutes, and only takes 5 minutes to get to the station was running late. I walked a little bit towards the station but I didn't get as far as I normally do - something was slowing me down.  I walked down the tunnel, at a rapidly decreasing speed, to get to the Southbound Victoria line platform. I know how to time it just right so I can beat the laggers to the platform, but I found myself becoming one fo them.  I walked (a piercing 15 - 20 minutes) from Warren Street to my office at the centre of Tottenham Court Road. When all was said and done, I got from N19 to W1T in just under 45 minutes.

This went on for seven days. And then I did something I typically never do.








I cried. This pain was serious and I couldn't take it anymore.



If I followed the advice from NHS I would've had to wait another 3 or 4 days to be seen by a doctor, so I went straight to Accident and Emergency (aka the ER) the next day.  I don't have the actual X-ray but here's a drawing and the technical term for what was is going on in my foot:

Fractured Foot

Apparently that fall did more than just hurt a bit; it ripped off a piece of bone. I dance on my toes/the balls of my feet, and you most likely walk on this part of your foot the most.  I'm unable to use that bit for 4-6 weeks now and have been sentenced to crutches.

1 week old foot wrap

Now World, each morning I catch the bus to Finsbury Park station for the Victoria line to work in Central.  The bus that comes about every 5 minutes, and only takes 5 minutes to get to the station was running late. The next bus: 11 minutes. I couldn't walk to the next stop, I couldn't even walk to the station if I wanted to do so.  I eventually made it to Finsbury Park and hobbled, at best, down the tunnel trying to avoid the person I was just 2 weeks ago speeding past the 'laggers'.  I make it to the Southbound Victoria line platform and on a good day, after what is now a 15 - 20 minute tiring journey to the station, and hope that someone isn't 'pretend sleeping' on the tube so I can rest for the measly 4 stops I have to Warren Street. I wouldn't dare exit at Warren Street to get to my office at the centre of Tottenham Court Road. I'd rather hobble a little but stay underground longer just to switch for the Northern Line to Goodge Street. But everyone from media is on their way to work at this hour so this is a busy station to leave.  I hobble up the stairs that most commuters try to position themselves closest to on the train cars.  I get pushed, I'm in the way, people are huffing and tutting, we all need to rush to the 4 decrepit lifts that take just as long to come as if we chose to walk the 193 steps up to ground level. I hobble, as best as I can at this point. I'm tired - your wrists take a lot of pressure moving your entire body. I make it to the office and I don't move for the next 8 hours until I have to go home.

When all was said and done, I got from N19 to W1T in just under 1.5 hours.

World, I'm not writing this entirely to have a whinge.  Obviously it sucks massively and I absolutely HATE those crutches even though when I try to walk without them my body reminds me quite sharply that I need them still. But could you imagine a London where THIS was your life every single day?  When TfL say they have 'step free' access (which is QUITE limited mind you) do they consider the massive tunnels connecting platforms as well?  And us, we've all done it - been a pretend sleeper on the tube so you don't have to get up for someone. 4 stops, hell 2 stops on the tube may not seem like a lot, but after crushing most of your body weight on your wrists for 30 minutes, those few stops are the only time to relax before dragging yourself along again.

So, World, I won't be seeing much of London for a while - it's really too much effort without a personal door-to-door cab around London at the moment. But I'm starting to get a bit concerned for those that need an Accessible London - particularly during the Olympics!  Maybe Annie Mole has some suggestions - but for the time being, Ariel Seeking will be resting.