It was the best of times, it was the worst of times – a
whole day of shopping, but oh, the money spent!
Feeling the limitations of my meager wardrobe, I decided it
was time to go shopping for some British flair. I further justified the need
for a shopping spree by telling myself that once I got it (shopping, that is)
out of my system, I wouldn’t need to do any more for the rest of my time here.
Yeah, right…
Quite fortunately, my delightful and completely non-morbid
Jack the Ripper class is situated only a few blocks away from the most divine shopping street in London – Oxford Street.
Thus, today after class, I hit the pavement, ready to find some great buys.
I just want you all to know, I did try
to be a bargain shopper. I marched myself all the way down the street to
Primark (a trendy value store, for those of you who don’t know) where I put all
my energy into struggling through the frantic mob of people trying to shove as
many articles of clothing as possible into their humongous shopping bags. I got
so desperate I even tried walking with my elbows out on either side to
discourage people from bumping into me. Unfortunately, I just don’t have the
stamina to be a bargain shopper. My disposition is much more inclined towards slightly expensive stores, which by default, are less crowded. And so, happily resigned,
I returned to the streets to find the next store.
Because Primark is so far down the street, I had to walk
back quite a ways to get to where I wanted to be. Walking along Oxford St. is
always an experience because of the sheer number of people out and about. It’s
almost like a game, albeit a dangerous one. You have to dodge people and then
force people to dodge you. The most thrilling part of the game is when you get
to cross the street. If you don’t get run over by a bus, taxi, or bicyclist,
then you have to watch out that you don’t get trampled by the mob of people
stampeding towards you. While out today, I was immediately reminded of a
conversation I had had with a friend last year. As a heavy metal fan, she likes
to frequent concerts of the mosh-pit variety. One type of moshing, as she
explained, was called the Wall of Death.
Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about
the Wall of Death: “In the Wall of Death, participants are directed away from
the center of the standing area by a member of the band until a large,
rectangular area is cleared, and, upon the band beginning the next song; the
two sides perpendicular to the stage sprint at each other and collide in the
middle.” Doesn’t sound too different from two masses of time-poor individuals
trying to cross a small street at the same time, right? If you need a visual,
I’ve kindly included one (sorry about the sound):
At any rate, I managed to survive the crowds. Barely. But
when is fashion ever easy?
All in all, I bought two scarves (one from Accessorize, one
from Zara), a pair of black boots from Zara, and a super cute pair of black
heels from Debenhams (a department store). Look, I really needed shoes, ok?
Don’t judge.
I toyed with the idea about going to Topshop (again) but the
day was getting on and I still wanted to check out…Camden Markets.
And what a juxtaposition to the snobby, flossy-glossy sheen
of the Oxford high street. Camden is all personality – gritty, exotic,
flamboyant. Instead of Prada and wicked high heels I found studs and a lot of black. It was a side of London that I was
pleasantly surprised to uncover.
Hidden throughout the narrow streets are just stalls and stalls bursting with unusual wares, vintage shops, and delicious food vendors. I myself stopped for a treat called Dutch Dunkers. A tri-brid (?) of donuts, waffles, and pancakes, these little guys were to die for. I had mine with syrup, butter, and powdered sugar. Jealous, much?
Aside from the stalls themselves, the actual scenery of
Camden is quite beautiful. The Stables Market area had some interesting
statuary and there was a nice view of the Regent’s Canal from several bridges.
Unfortunately, unaware of how amazing this place would be, I’d only given
myself a few hours to explore (and left my good camera at home!), which meant that I
only got to see a very small fraction of what the Camden area has to offer.
I have no doubt that I’ll be returning to Camden very soon to finish exploring
this beautifully unique section of London.
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