A Lady in London

Tell someone you’re going to east London and you’ll get a wide variety of reactions. Some people frown and ask “why?”, others get a glazed-over look and admit that they’ve never been there, and still more people peer excitedly through their hipster glasses and ask you where exactly you’re going.

On Sunday my answer was “Shoreditch,” an edgy, trendy area that has been undergoing a transformation from a run-down part of east London to an epicenter of contemporary art, music, and, well, hipsterism.

The main motivation for my sojourn to the east was that I had a free afternoon and I wanted to avoid the Notting Hill Carnival crowds in the west. And let’s be honest, with all of my friends out of town for the bank holiday weekend, I needed to feel like I was traveling somewhere too.

The first stop on the itinerary was The Book Club, a hipster cafe off Great Eastern Street. I sat down in a chair that looked like it came straight from my grandmother’s living room and ordered the quiche of the day. It was disappointingly bland, but the atmosphere partially made up for it by making me feel trendier than I actually am.

The next destination was my favorite place in east London, the Columbia Road Flower Market. As the name implies, it is a colorful floral extravaganza. In addition to the flowers, cute shops and cafes line the street, causing all kinds of sensory overload.

As I walked past pink peonies and rows of roses, I could smell the sweet scent of flowers. Vendors shouted their prices, giving greater discounts as the day went on. Musicians played for money on every corner, and along some streets there were hot grills with sizzling meats and veggies. It was bliss.

After the flower market came Brick Lane. While the street is best known for the “Indian” restaurants that line several blocks, I was happy to find an eclectic group of markets. First there was a flea market, where official and unofficial vendors were selling everything from globes to glasses frames. Several streets later there were two food markets. From Burmese cuisine to Mexican food, it seemed like every country in the world was represented. If I hadn’t been so full of quiche and fries, I would have gone for seconds.

At the end of Brick Lane was the tube. But before that—or engulfing that, really—was the Whitechapel Gallery. Founded in 1901 to bring art to the people of east London, the gallery has hosted works from an impressive line-up of modern and contemporary artists. On Sunday it was the temporary home of Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain (yep, the urinal) as well as an Alice Neel exhibition called Painted Truths.

After exploring the Whitechapel Gallery, the day in Shoreditch came to an end. While east London wasn’t Barcelona, Ghana, or any of the other exciting places my friends went for the bank holiday, it was the perfect day of traveling at home.