Eiffel For Paris

MARKETING

Sunday morning we arose early and made our way to the East End of London. The markets were once the lifeblood of the community. Things have changed somewhat but there was still a very lively culture abounding. We started at the Columbia Flower Market where we were carried along in a bustling throng lined by flowers of every kind and color being sold by the cockney hawkers out-shouting each other with that familiar humor: “Get yer roses ‘ere so’s I kin send me wife on ‘oliday…to Nawf Koreeya… and she kin take the muvverinlore wiv  ‘er.”

Next we wound our way through the meandering streets to Brick Lane. Street names in English and Hindi.  

The southern end of the street is known as Bangla Town and is lined by Bengali restaurants. The history of the area can be seen in the buildings that mark the strata of cultural immigration over the last several hundred years. The Huguenots settled here as weavers and dyers in small roomed homes that are still evident. They built a church on the corner of Brick Lane and Fournier Street. This church was later taken over by a couple of other Christian groups before accommodating a Jewish synagogue with the influx of a large Jewish community to the area. It is now a mosque. In Brick Lane there was also the conversion of a massive commercial brewery into an interactive, multi-purpose space. On Sunday it houses tens of stalls each representing the food and culture of different countries. Food was available for purchase from large boiling cauldrons representing diverse geographical origins including Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Jamaica.

We went for the Japanese okonomiyaki, a savory pancake made from grated cabbage, cheese, and other vegetables. Delicious! 

Walking past the sites of a least a couple of Jack the Ripper’s grizzly murders and past the eerie Hawksmoor edifice of Christ Church, we came upon Spitalfields Market said to be London’s oldest market.

Christ Church, Spitalfields

Sunday night we had an Indian meal with our friend Jonathan at Woodlands restaurant near Haymarket. It was lovely to engage in some lively discussion and some spicy food.