Portobello Road, Borough Market and Spitalfields Market

All I can say is, don't be surprised if the next time you see me I weigh about 500 pounds. Every weekend, London's outdoor markets open up, attracting flocks of people with their unique wares and delicious food. Since the weather here in London has been so beautiful for the past few weeks, I've made it to a total of three markets so far (and one of them I've been to twice).

Last Saturday I went to the Portobello Road market in Notting Hill.

















We did a little bit of antique-perusing, spotted a celebrity (Mickey Rourke) and ate the first of many delicious market meals. Chris enjoyed a fresh German bratwurst, while I scarfed down a delicious chicken burger with grilled onions.
































































Then, this past Saturday, we took the opportunity to visit Borough Market, which is London's oldest food market. It was very crowded but very worth it. Everywhere you look there are food vendors in stalls waving free samples in the air.

















Fresh seafood, freshly butchered meat, fresh produce, freshly cut flowers...it was all there for the taking (well, for the buying).

















Here we consumed deliciously aromatic lamb burgers with onions and blue-veined cheddar cheese.

















And we also bought freshly made (of course) pork and rosemary sausages to cook along with potatoes and fresh English green beans. They made a delicious, and fairly inexpensive dinner.

Finally, on Sunday we headed to Spitalfields Market, which is located in the Brick Lane area of London. Spitalfields was a little bit different than the other markets we had been to because it mostly consisted of clothing, vintage and accessory vendors.

I not only found a really cool company that hand-makes quaint, unique rings, but I also bought a new dress. It's red with black polka dots and it feels very Parisian to me, so I can't wait to wear it in Paris! I was also intrigued by some antique type letters, but I resisted purchasing an "H."

















Okay, enough about my shopping addiction, let's get back to the food. Brick Lane is known for having some of the best curry in London, so I had to give it a try.






































Chris and I both loved it, although I thought it could have been a little more spicy. My friend Alex managed to find a food vendor that was selling kangaroo burgers, which he promptly and thoroughly enjoyed. The same vendor also advertised python, ostrich and zebra burgers, which I plan on sampling in the future.

For dessert, the boys (Alex, Dmitriy and Chris) decided to binge on Brazilian churros, which are basically freshly fried churros filled with dulce de leche and/or melted chocolate.

















I already can't wait to go back to these markets, and hopefully explore more in the near future.