East London's Broadway Market

 Last Saturday we ventured to the outskirts of London to find the much buzzed about Broadway Market. London has always been famous for its many eclectic markets that range from food, antiques, vintage clothing and furniture. Luckily Peter trusts my extensive research and instinct when it comes to finding cool things to do, however it does take courage to do the non-touristy things when you're on a limited amount of time in a foreign city, because from time to time it turns out to be a complete fail, which usually means a waste of time and/or money. If you have the courage to follow these less traveled paths you can sometimes stumble upon a gem...and that is exactly how I would describe our experience with Broadway Market. We took a bike ride about an hour and a half into the heart of East London, only locals here. The best analogy would be, visiting NYC and leaving Times Square for the Brooklyn flea, only Broadway Market is more likened to an authentic Williamsburg. I have never seen so many creatively dressed people. It seemed like everyone had their very own look and owned it. If you don't at least have a different/cool pair of shades, hair, or are French, you may feel as though you don't fit in at this hip & stylish street market.

All and all it was a fine market, with your usual delicious local food and drink vendors, crafts, and vintage clothes, none of which were the reason for my adoration. It was far and away the people as a group that made it a special experience for me. And here I was thinking that New York was the best people watching on the planet, but (I can't believe I'm about to say this) I've never seen so many fascinating people to look at in one place at one time...Ever. The truth cannot be denied. I also found a treasure in the form of an accordion playing French girl who sings and composes, her name is Garance Louis and she was playing with her band The Mitochondries. There's something about a young lady singing in French and playing accordion that just makes me happy, I had a permanent smile on my face while watching her perform. The only thing I left with was her recently recorded album. I dare you to not fall in love with Garance. It was her endearing facial expressions, casual confidence and low vocals that got me in the end :-)

Garance Louis and the Mitochondries

If you happen to be in London on a nice Saturday morning/afternoon do yourself a favor and take the long trek out to East London's Broadway Market, you won't be sorry. 

The next day we wanted to explore another market (Chatsworth Road) that I had heard about, which was even further into East London, and it turned out to be a total flop. If you never try you'll never know :-) It took about 2 hours to get there and once we did we were stuck in the land of no tube, bikes, taxis, or ubers, finally over the course of several hours we found our way back. You win some, you lose some...the important part is to be adventurous, seek the unknown, and take the road less traveled, that is usually where the magic resides.

Future plans in East London: 

 - Gay/Straight Cabaret Pub/Nightspot: George & Dragon

- Drinking Gems: Farr's School of Dancing & Happiness Forgets as recommended by my favorite London fashion blogger Stella.

Foodcation

The art of dining al fresco 

This trip to Africa was a true vacation for the taste buds, our chef at Sabora even packed us a delicious dinner for our long journey home (which saved us from having to eat the somewhat questionable food at Kilimanjaro airport, and risk Montezuma's revenge on a 9 hour flight). Thanks Singita! 

We were shocked to discover that food in the middle of the Serengeti could be some of the best cuisine we've ever tasted?!? In fact, we enjoyed the food so much that we made up a song entitled "Spices From Zanzibar" to give these exotic flavors the praise they so deserve.
 
They've even established The Singita School of Cooking, which encourages and helps develop the skills of local youth that have an interest in cooking.

Breakfast - Sasakwa Lodge - Abraham served us a healthy & delicious assortment of fruit, yogurt, juice, and muesli at our cottage. They made some killer scrambled eggs, and the pastries with jam were sublime. We had to be very aware of our toast though, because the monkeys would jump down from the roof and snatch it right out of our hands.

Lunch - It was a tie between Faru Faru & Sabora - At Faru Faru, they serve a different platter of Mediterranean inspired meze fare every afternoon. They made the best gaspatcho I've ever tasted. Then we moved on to Sabora, where they created  the most inventive cold soups, sandwiches and salads, that were out of this world. We had to ask the chef for the cold zucchini and mint soup recipe. Yum!! I also sipped on my very first Pimm's Cup in the Serengeti, both thirst quenching and delicious.

Faru Faru- Our friend Paul serving us the most delicious meze fare platter, ever!

Faru Faru Dessert

Cold Zucchini & Mint Soup

Apollo had a Pimm's Cup waiting for us after a long morning game drive.

Dinner - At Singita, every night they try to top themselves and make each meal even more spectacular than the last. At the end of the day I'll always prefer a casual, yet stunningly beautiful and romantic al fresco dinner, which happened to be our very last night of the trip. Our friend Apollo and his team set up the most beautiful scene right outside our tent, lanterns and candles, champagne, and Persian rugs with pillows to star gaze. They've perfected the art of dining al fresco. There was even a lion pride that strolled by as we were eating...luckily they were more interested in the zebra. Few things can compare to dining by an open fire and gazing up at the Serengeti ceiling, with all of its flicking glory, as you stare directly into the past.