Day 357: Notting Hill Carnival

Every year, since 1966, The Notting Hill Carnival has overtaken the streets of London in Notting Hill, Kensington, and Chelsea for three days in August. James’ sister, Caroline told us to wear shoes and be prepared for lots and lots of people and partying. Andrew and I weren’t sure what we were in for… so when we arrived, we hesitated – slightly shellshocked by the scene, and then we quickly joined in. We had a fabulous time dancing in the streets, photographing strangers, listening to drum-lines and live Caribbean music, attempting unsuccessfully to avoid mosh pits, as well as unsuccessfully losing James in the commotion! It was great fun! Largely led by the West Indian community, it was quite the juxtaposition of a huge carefree crowd against the meticulously kept houses and storefronts of the area. I think London (and perhaps England as a whole?) has a bit of a proper sterotype for us Americans. The Notting Hill Carnival proves to all there is a completely different side to London that is well worth a look, or in this case, a three-day street party!

Before we made our way to Notting Hill Carnival, we headed to Camden Lock Market. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting… I think living and traveling in and around Asia for so long has somewhat warped my definition of a market though… It felt more like a sprawling outdoor (and some indoor) mall instead. Very clean and if grungy, it was grungy on purpose, with lots of girls dressed in goth milling about. Regardless, it was still fun to walk around and it felt more London (in a strange way) than biking along the river and through downtown.

Andrew is a fan of the Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright combo, so I snapped a picture of The World’s End as we walked past, wondering (and just in case) if it is The World’s End. A few metro stop detours later we were walking through Notting Hill towards the Carnival. The streets felt empty and you had a sense that there was more going on in other parts of the neighborhood. Which there was. Most definitely. It was almost as if we rounded one corner we went from one extreme to the other almost immediately. It was great fun. Perhaps not the most family friendly carnival, but for us it felt good to let our hair down for once on this trip!

Day 352: “What’s a Cornetto 99?”

Day 2 in London was more of the same, except we got to sleep past five in the morning. (What a relief!) Another wonderful homemade breakfast and we were out the door, again on bikes down to the River Thames. This time we jumped off of them and spent a couple hours exploring the Tate Modern before James introduced us to a Cornetto 99!

“What’s a Cornetto 99?” I asked James. He simply smiled with a twinkle in his eye and told me I would find out!

While it’s no longer 99 pence, it’s still delicious and worth every penny (at least once). In Kentucky, my friends would call this a ‘creamy whip.’ In other words, it’s a perfect (almost a cross between whip cream) ice-cream cone with a little cookie sticking out, and some chocolate drizzled on top if you prefer! It’s delicious. Try one the next time you’re in England!

The Tate Modern is – get this – free! Aside from special exhibitions. This is a LOT and more than enough to keep you entertained. Andrew and James headed up to concentrate on one exhibition, while I sprinted through several just to see what was there. My favorites included the Joseph Bueys photograph on canvas, the room full of Communist propaganda posters (of course), the dimly lit room full of HUGE Rothkos (too dark to photograph) and the Glenn Ligon (America) painted neon light piece below.

It was a great visit, but I have to admit, I was a little bit art-museum-ed out after spending so many hours inside them in Paris. We biked around some more, I got that sweet picture of James biking in between buses and taxis (above), and we stopped off at a few pubs in between. We weren’t exactly the perfect tourists, and I’m sure we could have done sooo much more with our day, but we were still reveling in James’ company, and letting go of the reins for a bit.

Day 351: London immigration at 3 in the morning; not my favorite!

London Immigration: How long will you be in England?
me: A few days, five I think.
Immigration: And then you are flying back to the United States? To teach?
me: No…
Immigration: Where are you going next?
me: (thinking) Peru. Yes. Peru.
Immigration: Don’t you need to get back to school? (I filled in “teacher” under occupation.)
me: No… I’m not teaching right now. I was teaching. In South Korea. But now, we’re traveling. (as anyone with eyes and a brain can tell by looking at the visas and stamps in my passport, which was in her hands)
Immigration: How are you finding your trip? (I thought she asked.)
me: Well, I’m really tired… (as it was in the middle of the night)
Immigration: (blankly staring at me) I don’t care.
me: I’m sorry, perhaps I misunderstood your question?
Immigration: How are you funding your trip?
me: Ohhh. funding. Well, with money. (Clearly confused.)
Immigration: How much money do you have on you?
me: In cash? Well… nothing… (thinking we spent all of our euros before getting on the bus heading to a country that doesn’t accept euros…)
Immigration: What about credit cards?
me: Well, there’s no money on them… I paid them off.
Immigration: You have no money?
me: You mean, what money is in my checking account? Of course I have money in there…

At this point Andrew’s immigration officer came over to my immigration officer’s desk.

new Immigration officer: Where are you staying in England.
me: With a friend.
new Immigration officer: Who is he?
me: His name?
new Immigration officer: Yes.
me: James.
new Immigration officer: How do you know him?
me: We met in Korea. We were teachers together.

By this time, I’m starting to wonder if the rest of my evening is going to be spent in the passport control building. I’m even imagining them inspecting my luggage: full of Haribo gummie candy, a bottle of Absenth, and some pretty well worn clothes that needed a good washing. But suddenly, Andrew’s officer turned to mine and told her that I answered all of the questions with the same answers Andrew gave.

I practically had to pinch myself before rolling my eyes and telling them both we answered the same (and truthfully) because we weren’t terrorists! We just wanted to spend the year traveling around the world! I realized later, when chatting with James and others that they probably suspected we were going to try to find jobs in England. Again, I rolled my eyes. Leave Asia to work in the (technically) E.U.? Sorry friends, but no thanks! I’m taking plenty of chances leaving Asia to work in America as it is!

James’ sister was happy to hear London immigration gave us the run-around. I get it. A run-around is great. I’m all for spelling things out. We have done it before (Israel) but it seemed like a giant waste of time this (very early) morning to mumble non-specific questions and then get frustrated with me when I don’t understand! I’ve also had one too many passport control “officers” and flight attendants look at my old Burmese visa thinking that it is the most important page (with all of my information on it)… so it’s become a challenge for me to know if I should take them seriously or not…

Of course we arrived in London nearly an hour early, just after 5 in the morning. We were exhausted, but once James arrived (with bells on) and we had a coffee, we began to shake ourselves awake a bit. Then came breakfast. A giant English feast of a meal before we hopped on bikes to ride around the city. We stuck mostly along the Thames and I didn’t photograph much, and instead enjoyed the feeling of having a friend again (one we don’t really feel often on this trip) and a friend who made all of our decisions for us! What a lovely break!