Camden Town

Monday was a holiday here in the UK, so Jason and I thought we would take a little field trip.  We talked about heading to Hampstead Heath again but ended up deciding to go visit Fenton House (also in Hampstead).  On our way up the Northern Line, we came to the Camden Town stop.  After some quick hemming and hawing, we decided to spend the day in Camden Town instead!  Why?  Well, we almost ended up living there and, as much as I love Clapham, I still think about Camden Town every now and then.  It has a reputation of being a bit bohemian (which appeals to this former Seattleite) and is right near Hampstead Heath.  

We hopped off the train and went to a great little Spanish restaurant called Bar Gansa for lunch.  We had some of my usual favourites (I ADORE Spanish food!!) and Jason and I each had a glass of their fantastic sangria.  Mmmm.  

(On a side note, though I had ordered our food in English, I pronounced the dishes with my trusty Spanish accent.  The waitress responded by speaking to me in Spanish!  I was so impressed with myself!  Too bad my accent is WAY better than my vocabulary!)

Charlie was shocked at her mother's beautiful Spanish accent and horrid vocabulary

Before we left, Jason had Charlie in stitches.  I can't remember what it was he was doing, but she thought it was pretty hysterical:

We decided to just wander throughout the neighbourhood and came upon the locks:

The best part about the locks is that it is right by the Camden Lock Market!  We had fun wandering through (although it was mostly just trinkets and Chinese food).  We ended up getting this amazing Nutella and whipped cream covered waffle at one of the stands:  

Charlie didn't get any of the waffle, but seemed to be happy enough with her rice cake:



The same stand also made fresh juices, so I got a yummy carrot and orange juice.  Jason had a latte.  I'm not sure what the stand was called, but here is a pic of Jason in front of it.  I highly recommend it!

As we continued walking, we decided that Camden was a lot of fun to visit, but was just too overrun with tourists to attract us enough to move there.  Clapham High Street certainly has its share of foot and vehicle traffic, but at least they aren't tourists.  After living in DC for nearly eight years, you learn to hate having to wade through tourists to go about your daily business.  They walk slowly, constantly stop in the middle of the sidewalk and draw all sorts of horrible trinket shops where little cafes and other, more interesting shops could go.

After a bit more walking, we ended up in Hampstead.  We wandered into a few shops and eventually made it back to the Holly Bush pub for a pint.  (We were first there when visiting the Heath back in May.)

grains were consumed by all

We had a lovely day off and were happy to get to spend it together.  It was also nice to confirm that we are happy with our choice to live in Clapham.  And at the end of the night, it was nice to come back to our sweet home.