Portobello Market : Notting Hill (4-7 January)

Apologies for the late entry of this blog, was really busy with alot of stuff especially with my CFA ( Certificate of Financial Analyst) just around the corner
(June 2008), so soon I'll be a busy busy lady!

Since I started my travelling job in August 2006, I've always wanted to visit all the art galleries in the world, the big cities such as London, New York ( When will i get that) and Paris.

One particular place that I yearned to go was Portobello Market, Notting Hill. The market, made famous from the eponymously famous movie 'Notting Hill' starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, is one of the 'must-see' tourist destinations when you drop by London. Located near Notting Hill Gate, the place is especially famous during Saturdays for antique merchandising.

Lucky for me, I was there during a Saturday, and decided to make my way to the famous location while singing along Ronan Keating's 'When you say nothing at all and 'She' from Elvis Costello. ( From the movie soundtrack)

As expected, the place was freaking amazing. They sold really fantastic stuff like the old telephones, microscopes, old navy compasses ( Where you can actually navigate the ships via the constellations at night), pretty english crockery, jewellery etc. My favourite location has to be the retro/vintage section ( Located just under the bridge at the very end of the market) where you can buy vintage clothing/accessories for just a song ( Well, not literally just a song, since no one really wants to hear my voice, but it was so cheap to buy these stuff, approx 5-10 pounds).

Not only can you get really great bargains, there were so many things to see and do. There was this stall where you can test your stress level for free (Though I think they were actually supposed to sell some science fiction books by Ron. L Hubbard, founder of Scientology), fresh fruits, amazing array of sumptous snacks from all cultures, bags,etc. And if you dont feel like flea market shopping, there are a wonderful selection commercial stores to browse from such as Accesories and Body Shop.

One thing to highlight is great range of nice vintage purses on offer though they were pretty expensive after conversion from pounds to sg dollars. Many were intricately made, with colourful beads and stitched with silk lining with the range selling from $40-100 pounds. Being the typical stingy Singaporean/Malaysian, I was hesitant to buy the purses though they were well made and nicely kept. I ended up in buying a retro slingback with gold trimmings to match my newly purchased vintage wear. I promised myself to go back to Notting Hill given any chance just to get some an amazing piece of vintage item.

I ended day by visiting the British Museum. As I have been to the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo and Lourve in Paris, the museum did not do much for me. However, if you wish to see lots of ancient relics/sculptures from all over the world. you can head down to this place. The only amusement I have is amazing the number of items taken from the acropolis (In athens) and displayed in the museum as well as the fact that many statues were decapitated and either were lost or was taken away by another museum somewhere in Europe.