Day 2

Unsurprisingly, woke up fairly early - curse you, jet lag! Not such a bad thing, though, as it meant we could grab breakfast and have a bit of a wander around, and still try and get out of the hotel before they started doing their all-day fire alarm tests again. Didn’t quite make it, but our ears have stopped bleeding now.

Of course, that meant that we were too early to check in to our apartment for the week. We left our luggage at reception, and jumped on the tube to head to Camden Market.

The walk from Camden underground station to the market itself is a mix of the worst of Las Vegas (dodgy souvenir shops) and the best of Brunswick Street, Fitzroy (grunge-chic shoes interspersed with body piercing and tattoo artists).

Cross the bridge over Camden Locks and you’ve arrived at the market.

We looked through a variety of shops and stalls: jewellery, clothes, jewellery, art, jewellery, music and more (jewellery).

By an amazing piece of lucky timing we arrived pretty much bang on lunch time. By an another amazing piece of luck, there are about a million food stalls. The hardest part was choosing where to eat! I think every type of food imaginable was represented. After walking in circles we ended up back at Honest Burgers for a tasty burger and cocktail combo.

Refreshed, we kept exploring. We spent some time in the massive Dr Marten’s store, checking out their history and discovering that the only boots not in stock were the ones Rich wanted. Go figure.

Note for Australians: most public toilets in the UK are not free. It’s where the phrase “spend a penny” comes from. Like all things, inflation has hit, and it now costs 40p to have a pee. Thankfully, for those who don’t carry cash, the restrooms at the market now take contactless credit card payments!

We kept wandering through the twisty alleys and laneways, until the cold got the better of us and we decided to head back to the apartment, check in and get settled.

Our apartment is ever so slightly bigger than our room from the first night! A huge lounge leading to a spacious bedroom. The kitchen is tiny, but it’s not like we’re planning on cooking anything.

Then wandered around a bit more and severe jetlag started to hit so went back to get into our new apartment and shower and change

Then went for dinner at local pub for bangers and mash and a drink each then to bed