Day 5: Sep. 8, 2018 - Portobello Market & Soho

It’s Saturday, and that means it’s time for the Portobello Saturday Market! We head out to see what’s up.

Portobello Market

It’s really hopping. Lots of interesting stalls. Lots of good smelling food cooking. Too bad we just ate. Even worse, the market closes at 4:00, long before we will be back from today’s outing. The Neighborhood for today is Soho! We have two walks planned, Soho 1 goes from Chinatown to Old Compton. Soho 2 continues on, passing through the Berwick Market and ending in Carnaby Street.

We leave the Portobello Market by entering the Ladbroke Grove Underground Station, exiting the tube at Leicester Square. We are in the midst of Chinatown. Restaurants thick on both sides of the street. We aren’t quite ready to eat, so we keep walking.

Next, we enter the heart of gay London. Lots of cafes and bars. As we walk along, I notice the sign of a restaurant: “Belgo”. Amy talked about her brother Mike recommending a Belgian restaurant specializing in Mussels. This is it! Our first AHA moment of the trip! (This isn’t the one Mike recommended, but it’s a small chain.) Well, with a nod to Mike, we find a table. We share the Pot of Steamed Mussels and the platter of Garlic and Herb Mussels. The meal is delicious, as is the people-watching. We have a short chat with the couple at the next table, they are native Londoners and tell us about other locations of this small chain.

Stuffed, we continue our walk and happen upon an interesting store selling original and classic artwork from pop culture over the last several decades. This is the "House of Minalima" on Greek Street. Just now, they are specializing in Harry Potter: you can get several different illustrated versions of “Tales of Beedle the Bard”. It’s a really fun store on 3 separate floors.

Continuing, we pass Ronnie Scott’s, the site of Jimi Hendrix’ last performance. We end this first walk at Soho Square.

The second Soho Walk starts in an area specializing in Vinyl and Comics. There is so much to see! We are slowing down and when we get near Carnaby Street, we decide to take a break with a glass of vino at Shampers. Nice place! We finish the walk. I remember coming here 25 years ago. Carnaby Street was nothing. No evidence to indicate the importance of the locale to the 70’s hippie culture. Now it is a sort of a mall for whatever. It is new and vibrant, but whatever hippie charm there may have been is solidly somewhere in an old calendar.

We head back to the flat, then take a short walk to the local grocery store for some dinner fixings and have a meal in the flat. Another good day!