On Saturday, I woke up to a cold and rainy day, so I got a quick workout in at the gym and then camped out at my desk all morning going through lectures and studying. It really needed to happen and I was actually feeling really productive, but also a little guilty because here I am, in London, and it was looking like I wasn’t going to leave the apartment for the entire day. I justified it with the weather, but the more I’ve been looking at my schedule, the more I’m realizing how little time I have left here (really only a month!) and I still have some things on my running list of things to do and see in London that I want to get checked off. PLUS, now that the sun goes down at literally 4:15pm, there’s less and less daylight to take advantage of to go and see things by. So around 2:30, after doing work pretty much all day, I abruptly decided that I was going to take a trip across town to check some more stuff off my list. And lucky for me, the sun had come out! All the more reason to take a study break 
When I try figuring out what I’m going to see and do, I try to pick things that are all in the same area, that way I can hit a lot instead of going back and forth across London. At first, it was kind of difficult because I didn’t know where any of the neighborhoods were or where any of the major streets were, but as time has gone on (and I’ve spent A LOT of time just walking around seeing how everything fits together) I’ve started to get a working map of London in my head. My mission for this particular day was to go and check out Regent’s Canal, Regent’s Park, and Camden Market. I checked to see what time things would be open at Camden Market, and it appeared they would still be open after the sunset (lots of things close here as early as 4 or 4:30) so I decided to catch Regent’s Canal in the daylight, make my way to Regent’s Park, and then finish off with Camden Market.
Regent’s Canal is really close to King’s Cross Station, and it’s basically this little canal that runs through the area that has a nice walking path along the side. But the unique thing about it is the houseboats that also line the canal. We noticed this in Oxford too; at first we thought they were just old and abandoned but no, people actually live here! I think most of it is temporary – people can rent them out for some a month or so and just live out of their little houseboat if they so desire! Maybe not my cup of tea, but it definitely makes for a scenic walk!
The walk was a little less than 1/2 a mile down, so once I got to the end, I turned around and headed back towards the direction of where I started, and Regent’s Park! In addition to just being a beautiful park, Regent’s Park was also supposed to have a huge hill in it called Primrose Hill where you could get amazing views of the London skyline. Me looking at what time it was, realized I could probably make it there for sunset if I moved quickly – my Citimapper app told me that it was going to be a 30 minute walk, which was fine, but it was after 3:30 and I definitely wanted to be there on time to see the sunset. So off I dashed through the city, and made it to the entrance of Regent’s Park right when I was supposed to. However, what I didn’t realize, was that Primrose Hill was not in the middle of Regent’s Park, but actually it’s own little mini park on the northwest side of Regent’s Park. And I had just entered on the southeast. I was going to have to walk all the way around the park, which was estimated to take about 20 more minutes. Again, I really don’t mind walking, and at this point the clouds were starting to roll back in so I knew the sunset wasn’t going to be that good anymore, but now I was worried that it was going to get dark before I got there. So, once more, I dashed my way through the park, turning on my Team Gerth walking mode, and made it to Primrose Hill a few minutes after sunset. It ended up being the perfect time to be there because it was still light enough to see, but it was getting a little dusky so all of the lights of the city were coming on. Every other person in London definitely had the same idea as me because the place was packed, but the views made it all worth it. Also a side note that while I was definitely hustling through Regent’s Park, I was still able to really appreciate it. Fall was definitely in full spring and the paths were absolutely beautiful to walk up and down. Everyone was out with their kids and their pets enjoying the day and I know I want to go back to be able to take it in at a slower pace.
From here, I had a short walk to Camden Market. I really didn’t know what to expect; each market in London kind of has it’s own flair and I pretty much just knew that this place existed and that I needed to go to it. When I arrived, I was shocked by how massive it was. It seemed like this never ending web of stalls and food stands and because I didn’t have anything else to do, I definitely took my time exploring. The first shop I stopped into was a vintage clothes shop; I have found that I really enjoy going into these just to see what I can find. I could never do my shopping there because you don’t have any idea what’s in there, but sometimes you stumble across some pretty neat things. Like in this shop. The owner had a half a rack of authentic Norwegian sweaters. Of course this piqued my interest so I started going through them and found a beautiful Dale sweater/cardigan in my size. I don’t know why I know the brand Dale but I do; this is like THE top notch Norwegian sweater brand (literally if you look online they go for hundreds of dollars/pounds) so I was pleasantly surprised when she told me it was only 30 pounds! That’s a steal!! My dad has a traditional Norwegian sweater pretty similar to this one so now we can be twins 
(I ended up wearing it the next day and it is SO warm!!)
(I ended up wearing it the next day and it is SO warm!!)
I slowly made my way through the rest of the place, getting lost in the crazy maze more than once. It was also a Saturday night so it was pretty busy. There were antique shops, boutiques, a tea shop, a really nice football jersey shop, and several vintage clothing and souvenir shops. As for the food, you could basically find anything you wanted. There was Mexican, falafel, Dutch pancakes, Thai, Chinese, fish & chips, even a Hungarian place! I couldn’t decide if I wanted to try anything since I had stuff to make dinner with at home, but on my way out, I found a Shakshuka place. I keep seeing this all over my Pinterest for easy healthy meals and have been wanting to try it for a while; basically it’s a Middle Eastern dish of eggs baked into a savoury tomato sauce (I just accidentally used the British spelling there without realizing it but I’m gonna keep it ). The one I decided to try was 2 poached eggs on top of a tomato sauce made with peppers, onions, and other cozy spices, all on a bed of hummus. It also came with a piece of pita bread. It. Was. Delicious. I later found out that this particular cafe I had ordered it from was highly recommended on Trip Advisor and it’s actually one of those destination restaurants I guess you’d call them, so don’t just take my word for it when I say their stuff was good! Cafe Loren in Camden! Hit them up for some yummy food that would be very hard for me to find in Oklahoma or Arkansas!! Yay for cultural diversity!! And here’s some pictures of Camden Market:
). The one I decided to try was 2 poached eggs on top of a tomato sauce made with peppers, onions, and other cozy spices, all on a bed of hummus. It also came with a piece of pita bread. It. Was. Delicious. I later found out that this particular cafe I had ordered it from was highly recommended on Trip Advisor and it’s actually one of those destination restaurants I guess you’d call them, so don’t just take my word for it when I say their stuff was good! Cafe Loren in Camden! Hit them up for some yummy food that would be very hard for me to find in Oklahoma or Arkansas!! Yay for cultural diversity!! And here’s some pictures of Camden Market:
Anyway, that was pretty much my night! I really enjoyed Camden Market and I’m so glad that I had the time to just take me time exploring. I was also really happy I got to see and do so many new things, but let’s be real, every time I leave my apartment I see something new. London is pretty cool that way
Thanks for reading!!
-Katie
Katie, a senior Biology major, is spending the Fall 2017 semester studying Health & Society at King's College in London through Arcadia University.
Read more from Katie at https://katientheuk.wordpress.com/
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