Camden Market and Chinese New Year!

Saturday was a fun day - Laura and I and our friend Amanda went to Camden Lock Market in another part of London I had yet to see. As we exited the tube station, Amanda commented how much she loves leaving the tube to a part of London she's never seen - it's like coming to a whole new village, yet it's still part of London! Each part is so diverse, yet they are all connected under the name of London. It's really cool to see how different every place I go is! And boy, was Camden different!

Camden was basically a "hip" version of Portabello Road. While Portabello is more focused on food and antiques, Camden is centered around serving the younger generation that is interested in body piercing, tattooing, and strange "body adaptations." They have lots of clothes stands with all the latest fashions, which seem SO weird coming from America. Their style is definitely different here. Not bad, just different. I've been told I should be glad we're here in the winter when people have to wear clothes to keep warm, because summer means "wear as few clothes as possible" in Europe! But anyway, there were LOTS of people there, mostly the younger crowd. We saw more kids with mohawks than I think I've ever seen in my life. And not just mohawks, but pink mohawks, green mohawks, orange, yellow, blue, you name the color and I saw it, in a mohawk. There were groups of goths, bikers, punks, and just plain weirdos! They all seemed to be having a fun time, and seemed to be happy with who they were, so more power to them, I say! Here's Amanda, Laura, and me!

We only shopped for a little while in the stalls and stands of the Lock Market, then went to get some food! Amanda and Laura had some South American food, but I opted for some delicious pizza! We all had doughnuts as our dessert - man they were yummy! Mine was a chocolate and coconut topped doughnut with a marshmallow filling! We sat next to the canal enjoying our doughnuts in the sunshine!

We left soon after, and from what I hear, it's a good thing we did. About three hours later, there was a severe fire that broke out, destroying part of Camden Market. I couldn't find good enough pictures for me to figure out if we were actually shopping in the area that burned down, but maybe we'll get a chance to go back someday soon and see where it was. I'm glad to say that there weren't any injuries, just lots of rebuilding in the future.

Welcome to the Chinese New Year Festival! Laura and I got up early on Sunday morning and went to Trafalgar Square to partake in the festivities celebrating the Chinese New Year. The first thing on the schedule, which we both wanted to see, was the parade! But we got there just as it started and were blocked by rows and rows of people lining the streets to see the parade also. I picked up a map somewhere and we high-tailed it to the end of the parade route and got a prime spot next to the fence lining the street where the parade would go by. Here's lots of pictures from the parade - what can I say? The pictures say it all. One is a pic of Laura and I trying some Chinese food!

I've got some more awesome pictures - I'll try to post them later. There's also an awesome video to go with it all!

Please pray for safety for Laura and I - we are headed to Paris tomorrow! We're leaving pretty early, so I need to go get to bed. Look for Paris pictures soon!