London: Portobello Market
It was a last minute idea to go to Portobello Market yesterday. We were probably woken up by the noise of drilling from the neighbour. Strong rays of sunshine shone through the blinds sent us a hint that the weather was extremely good and sunny.
I glide opened the window that leads to the balcony…. brrr…. ‘It’s cold’, I told myself. But, a day out to the ever popular Antique Market in London, why not? It’s a not to be missed market if you visit London. Apparently, it’s the world largest Antique Market. Portobello Market is located at Portobello Road is a road in the Notting Hill district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. (Adapted from Wikipedia)
On Saturday particularly, the street market is probably the spotlight of the week. Products sold by the street vendors ranged from food, fashion, arts to second hand antique items. Apart from the stalls, there are shops that sell items from A-Z. I was fascinated by all the fresh fruits and vegetables. Not to mention the food stalls. The smells of Paella, German sausages sandwiches, Kontomire Stew.. etc convinced us that we needed food after 2 hours of non-stop walking and shopping.
We tried the German sausage sandwiches for £2.50 each. Absolutely delicious. It came in a small portion though for that price. It didn’t quite fill us up. We then walked pass the Paella stall and we were tempted to try the Seafood Paella. So, we bought one to share for £6.00. It was so darn good. I love Paella, especially Seafood Paella. As I was too busy eating, I hadn’t had a chance to take shots of the food!
It seemed to be a never ending market as there are so many things to see that we spent almost 5 hours there! As the darkness drew nearer, we thought it was time to leave as our feet were numb and frozen as it was too cold to spend another 30 minutes outdoor!
We got in our car and immediately switched the heating on to warm ourselves and we couldn’t wait to head back asap with all the good stuff that we bought. If you plan to visit London one day, or you are already in London, do drop by Portobello Road in Notting Hill. It will be one of the most wonderful experiences.
Website:http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk
Opening Hours: Market open every Saturday from 5:30am
Some shops open Monday to Saturday
How to get there:
Bus Services : To Ladbroke Grove via the number 52, 7, 70, 23 or 295 buses
Underground : The nearest tube station is Ladbroke Grove on the Hammersmith & City Line, but you can also walk from Notting Hill Gate on the Central line
Address:
Portobello Road, London W10 & W11
