I was back in London with my beautiful Bex for the opening night of her photography degree exhibition and she'd been full on over two days preparing her display. It was ok though because we still had breakfast and dinner together; leaving me to fill my days in and around Brick Lane.
Brick lane is incredible, even during the week without the markets in full swing it's worth walking around. The vintage shops alone are worth a visit. I love vintage shopping, there's always something that looks exciting. Sadly I'm too bootylicious for the clothes to fit but it doesn't stop me from looking! As you walk around you can see the eclectic fashion that London is known for. Obviously inspired by the vintage clothes shops in this area. The young men and women look great in their mismatched clothes; bright and vibrant, individual and arty. Perfectly at home with themselves. Which is something I love to see. Much as I love high street fashion I love it when people take something from the high street and add their own personal touch, make it their own style. It's too easy to buy a whole outfit and wear it as is. Then we all become the same and where's the fun in that! In Brick Lane no one looks the same and it's quite obviously a place where people go who are looking for that individual vibe, whether being a local or tourist. There are markets on throughout the week if you're willing to do your research and of course there are the permanent vintage stores including London's largest vintage warehouse, Beyond Retro.
Brick Lane isn't all about the vintage clothes and second hand shops though, one of my favourite things about Brick Lane is the graffiti. Wall after wall of it. I love graffiti, good graffiti not the empty headed graffiti on railway bridges but the true graffiti which displays a huge artistic talent. I spent a very happy few hours walking around and just taking pictures of the graffiti and being totally absorbed by it. I even came across a walking tour being guided around the art work! If I had known about the walk I probably would have booked onto one. It's the vibrancy of graffiti I love, all the bright colours and incredible caricatures. There's a passion about this at form, a freedom. One of the most known graffiti artist has to be Banksy. I love his work but have never been lucky enough to actually see any; but whilst I was googling famous artists I found a list of the top twenty. A few I'd heard of but most I hadn't, obviously countries have their own notorious street artists. Look at graffitiknowhow.com there's some great work on there.
But I think if most people are asked about a Brick Lane the first thing that will come to mind is curry. Street after street, restaurant after restaurant of curry houses. All of which seem to boast the title of the best curry in a Brick Lane! As you walk down the streets you are encouraged to 'come in and try our food, the best in Brick Lane.' And the smells are incredible. Your mouth starts to water as soon as you enter the area. A rich, exotic, spicy aroma permeating from every open door. Obviously a technique destined to work! Who isn't drawn to the aroma of freshly cooked food and curries always smell so good. Trying to find a restaurant to visit was quite a mission but with the help of my niece and an app we chose our venue. Having chosen our restaurant though the next difficult thing is ordering. The waiter is busy offering you popadoms whilst you wait, then he has the chef's favourite dish that he's trying to sell you. The easiest thing is to order your favourite main dish and then choose side dishes to share amongst you. To be honest I'm a wuss when it comes to hot and spicy food. I enjoy a mild creamy dish which leaves my taste buds able to enjoy all the other dishes on offer.
At this point I must confess to doing something that my lovely DickyB is never going to let me forget. I am proud of this and feel no shame. My train of thought was absolutely spot on and I'm not too proud to say that my friend, the luscious Jane (she of the 6 LitreClub) and I enjoyed a bottle of Bolly with our curry. I can hear the cries of horror; I know, I know, beer is the traditional beverage of choice. In my defence though, a bottle of Bollinger Champagne in the Uk is the same as a glass of champagne in Dubai. It's all relative, to me it was a complete bargain. A no brainer. So I'm proud to say I drank Bolly with my curry.
And that, my friends, is how I roll!!
Brick lane is incredible, even during the week without the markets in full swing it's worth walking around. The vintage shops alone are worth a visit. I love vintage shopping, there's always something that looks exciting. Sadly I'm too bootylicious for the clothes to fit but it doesn't stop me from looking! As you walk around you can see the eclectic fashion that London is known for. Obviously inspired by the vintage clothes shops in this area. The young men and women look great in their mismatched clothes; bright and vibrant, individual and arty. Perfectly at home with themselves. Which is something I love to see. Much as I love high street fashion I love it when people take something from the high street and add their own personal touch, make it their own style. It's too easy to buy a whole outfit and wear it as is. Then we all become the same and where's the fun in that! In Brick Lane no one looks the same and it's quite obviously a place where people go who are looking for that individual vibe, whether being a local or tourist. There are markets on throughout the week if you're willing to do your research and of course there are the permanent vintage stores including London's largest vintage warehouse, Beyond Retro.
Brick Lane isn't all about the vintage clothes and second hand shops though, one of my favourite things about Brick Lane is the graffiti. Wall after wall of it. I love graffiti, good graffiti not the empty headed graffiti on railway bridges but the true graffiti which displays a huge artistic talent. I spent a very happy few hours walking around and just taking pictures of the graffiti and being totally absorbed by it. I even came across a walking tour being guided around the art work! If I had known about the walk I probably would have booked onto one. It's the vibrancy of graffiti I love, all the bright colours and incredible caricatures. There's a passion about this at form, a freedom. One of the most known graffiti artist has to be Banksy. I love his work but have never been lucky enough to actually see any; but whilst I was googling famous artists I found a list of the top twenty. A few I'd heard of but most I hadn't, obviously countries have their own notorious street artists. Look at graffitiknowhow.com there's some great work on there.
But I think if most people are asked about a Brick Lane the first thing that will come to mind is curry. Street after street, restaurant after restaurant of curry houses. All of which seem to boast the title of the best curry in a Brick Lane! As you walk down the streets you are encouraged to 'come in and try our food, the best in Brick Lane.' And the smells are incredible. Your mouth starts to water as soon as you enter the area. A rich, exotic, spicy aroma permeating from every open door. Obviously a technique destined to work! Who isn't drawn to the aroma of freshly cooked food and curries always smell so good. Trying to find a restaurant to visit was quite a mission but with the help of my niece and an app we chose our venue. Having chosen our restaurant though the next difficult thing is ordering. The waiter is busy offering you popadoms whilst you wait, then he has the chef's favourite dish that he's trying to sell you. The easiest thing is to order your favourite main dish and then choose side dishes to share amongst you. To be honest I'm a wuss when it comes to hot and spicy food. I enjoy a mild creamy dish which leaves my taste buds able to enjoy all the other dishes on offer.
At this point I must confess to doing something that my lovely DickyB is never going to let me forget. I am proud of this and feel no shame. My train of thought was absolutely spot on and I'm not too proud to say that my friend, the luscious Jane (she of the 6 LitreClub) and I enjoyed a bottle of Bolly with our curry. I can hear the cries of horror; I know, I know, beer is the traditional beverage of choice. In my defence though, a bottle of Bollinger Champagne in the Uk is the same as a glass of champagne in Dubai. It's all relative, to me it was a complete bargain. A no brainer. So I'm proud to say I drank Bolly with my curry.
And that, my friends, is how I roll!!