London Thoughts

Went to this Algerian place in Hampstead, to have a coffee, delicious coffee with spices and a hint of rose water. The last streams of the Autumn sun were making its way in to the cafe.

Walking through Hampstead Heath, after looking at all those beautiful houses, one forgets this side of London, how life can be easy in London, that it is not all a struggle, I spot a man in a suit throwing himself on to the grass, reading his daily capsule of news.

What a great sense when there are four directions, each going into the path of the uncertain, where sense of security evaporates. It can bring a new dimension to ones life, four new dimensions.

Holly Lodge Mansions - council estate in Highgate (although probably not anymore).

Greek Taverna on 122 Junction Rd, this looks just amazing. Thyme hanging from the ceiling an Octopus sitting in the display refrigerator (and it is fresh looking).

Dalston Jazz Bar off Kingsland Rd, no jazz playing though to my disappointment. It would have been good with some Afro Jazz.
In Dalston there are also some hardcore places, especially two Russian ones. The Bar one looks like a cheap Rave bar from the former East countries, really tacky, but of good. The Club one just seems dodgy, further up there is a big illegal concrete room under a carpet shop open at nonethical hours.

Portobello Road, one goes quickly through the market, briefly stopping off at Garcia to buy some (dried chili) and my friend bought lots of things, amongst others Tetilla. I found it quite a strange thing to eat, while my friend just said "It is like a real breast". In those places one has to be careful to buy with the head instead of with the heart (unless it is at the start of the month).

I wanted to be a candlel snatcher. £ 30 is quite excessive though. Everything at the market is probably 3 times what you normally pay, but of course that takes some time. I am seriously looking for a brass candle snatcher.

There was a Morroccan cafe, full of men playing domino sipping mint tea, looked amazing, but we hesitated in going in.

The two Portuguese cafes look so good, one is kind of less fashionable (interior) wise - Lisboa and Oporto is slightly more welcoming. However it is Lisboa that has the fame and the pastries are simply delicious. It was packed and behind me was an old Portuguese lady talking to customers, especially the Portuguese young men. Just go there.

Want to visit Kew's Garden, Greenwich, Tottenham/Edmonton, Kilburn, V&A, next time I am in town. Not to forget the Colombia Flower Market - I lived on that street for seven years, but I don't think I visited the market more than a handful of times.

The best sandwiches are at Le Bouche, it is a very trendy place on Broadway Market, a place where the people beyond fashion seem to hang out. Whatever you say there products are AMAZING. Coffee, cakes and most of all their sandwiches.

To end my visit we went for a barbecue type of dish at a Turkish place. They do cheap meat on the grill ( I just hope they don't buy it from the butcher in Dalston, which smells) to round it off we went to a Turkish pastry shop for a Baclawa.

I really enjoy to visit London and it is so nice to see parts of it, that you have never seen, to go to different communites and just to walk around or take a bus route and see the city changing. So many other cities are quite homogenous, but London has something special (just a shame you need so much money).

One should not have to go through bureaucracy in order to arrange a meeting between two humans.

Ps. Pictures taking from the web. I will put my own soon (if I remember).