If Hugh Grant has ever returned anything back to his city, its putting Notting Hill on top of the list of ‘I will do anything to click a picture here’ of Instagrammer wannabes.
If you are out on a weekend and thinking to have a gentle stroll around the neighborhood, you just ruined your day. Notting Hill is always flooded with people desperate to get clicked on the porch of one of the colored houses.
Portobello Market is the icing on the cake of drawing thousands of tourists specially in summers. A long road running south to north of Notting Hill, transforms itself every Saturday into one of the largest and rather most interesting Antiques Market in London
There are temporary pop ups selling antiques, second hand items, fruits, vegetables, cakes, jewelry. On the pavements there are permanent shops which you can visit any day of the week, probably at more leisure. You can shop, bargain and also enjoy some great food on the go.
One of the well know antique shops is Alice’s which has an envious collection of china, painted mugs and vases, leather boxes, cutlery, vintage posters and what not!
The market is a photographer’s paradise. Few people buy, more people click pictures.
To get such a wide array of vintage items, shiny storefronts, some very English antique collectibles, all in one place is absolutely delightful.
For me, the food area of the market was very interesting. There were assorted cheese, succulent fruits, olives, quiches, samosas, very tempting tarts and cakes. It was hard to make a choice of what to eat and what to shove in my bag and carry home.
Clicking pictures here needs very less skill but huge amount of patience. I clicked several shots with heads, hair, hands, faces of people and then ended up deleting them later.
There are also warning sign boards everywhere to beware of pick pockets. Guard your wallets and valuables.
Portobello Antiques market is an experience, somewhere it assaults your senses with the vintage style and chic, and somewhere its overwhelming to be able to cruise through and amass it all. However you will really miss something if you leave London without treating yourself to this lovely market.
