Greenwich, London, UK

[Undertoad]

The 100x100 was an IotD.

http://cellar.org/iotd.php?threadid=9982

[glatt]

Once word got out of the incredibly large sandwich, In-N-Out management disallowed anything larger than a 4x4.

This is one example of top management not causing 85% of the problems. They made the right call banning those disgusting monstrosities. As a restaurant, I would be embarrassed to have such a gross item come out of my kitchen.

[Sundae]

...coming out of anywhere!

[DanaC]

Eww

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by glatt

Wasn't the hamburger invented in Hamburg, Germany? And the idea of putting it between two buns invented by the Earl of Sandwich in England?

I'm pretty sure that was The Greeks.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The hamburger, a ground beef patty between two slices of bread, was first created in America in 1900 by Louis Lassen, owner of Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut.[4] There have been rival claims by Charlie Nagreen, Frank and Charles Menches, Oscar Weber Bilby, and Fletcher David.[5][6] White Castle traces the origin of the hamburger to Hamburg, Germany with its invention by Otto Kuase.[7] However, it gained national recognition at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair when the New York Tribune namelessly attributed the hamburger as, "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike."[6] No conclusive claim has ever been made to end the dispute over the inventor of the hamburger with a variety of claims and evidence asserted since its creation.

wiki

[Sundae]

So, as the actress said to the Bishop, "Wow, this is a long one."
Mum and I went to London yesterday. I was offered the choice of a number of gifts, and a trip to London would be the most expensive of all. But I honestly knew by the way she pitched it, that she really wanted us to go.

She missed out last year (because we had a huge row before my 40th and I couldn't even face it.) And she missed out on her theatre trip with Steven because she was ill and I ended up taking her place. And she has had a lot of worry and stress recently. And let's face it, a trip to London isn't exactly a hardship for me!

We'd actually got into town when she said she's always wanted to go to Camden Lock.
Now it was one of the places I had thought about, because it's one of the places you can walk and talk and meander through for hours without spending anything apart from a penny. Or 30p nowadays. But I didn't know if it would be her bag. And although it was "my" day, I'd always rather she was happy, because I enjoy myself much more when we are in synch.

So off to Camden we go!

Now, Camden Lock is denigrated by the uber-cool and trendy. It's a tacky tourist trap, everyone there looks the same and yet are pretending to be themselves and unique, it's over-priced and a rip-off. I don't give a stuff what the cool crowd think, I like seeing things I don't see at home. I like the food stalls and the jewellery and the tiny tiny beautiful clothes that only fit the hoardes of Asian princesses that descend on it every Sunday.

We had a great time, and we only really went round half of it.
Given the right budget even I, who am grossly over-sized for the clothes - could have spent hundreds. But it wasn't about buying. It was about looking and talking and showing and laughing. Job done.

1. Camden from just outside the station.

2. And there are still some traditional boozers alongside all the trendy places.

[Sundae]

The sort of clothes you can buy here.
Uniqueness ready-to-wear.

I honestly missed the No Photos sign.
Mum said it's because all the shop-staff/ stallholders are on benefits and don't want to be caught on camera.
Rubbish.
It's because they don't want everyone else copying their ideas and undercutting them.

I respected future signs, which is a shame because I fell in love with a whole stall full of cushion covers of cats dressed as famous people. Amy Winehouse looked just like Diz. Hey, I've never claimed to be classy...
But honestly, the colours were so bright and the images so well done they really worked.

So many pictures of dresses and shoes to follow.
Even female Dwellars may need to retire to a man-cave for a while.

[Sundae]

1. Captain John Hart, anyone?

2. The market-proper, although it's only really a tiny part of the whole shopping environment. Lots of rockabilly dresses and bags. No prices on anything. It's not a case of "If you have to ask you can't afford it," it's a case of, "how much can I fleece you for?" The phrase I saw you coming springs to mind.

[Sundae]

1. Another traditional pub. And because I come from Bucks.

2. Detail. Looks like the goat of Mendes to me.

[Sundae]

Many of the buildings have external decorations.
I took some of these photos for Dad because I know he adores that sort of thing.

We went for an All You Can Eat buffet in Max Orient.
More expensive than street food, which is what I really wanted, but Mum wanted "Somewhere proper to sit down. With a toilet."
I refer you to the above - I'm happier when she's happy. And it was okay. I ate there with Terri the last time I was in Camden (it's documented in the Cellar somewhere.)

[Sundae]

1. More building decoration.

2. Mum perusing the drinks menu in Max Orient.
No photos of the food because AYCE means you get a plate of stuff you can't remember the names of anyway.

Note: NO REFUND ON BUFFET FOOD.
They also had notices that a surcharge of £5 would be added for food wastage. Mum and I pretty much ate the patterns off our plates just in case.

[Sundae]

Onto the right hand side of the market, where some of the food stalls are.
They are all over Camden Lock, but they do cluster together.

1. Moped seating, looking out onto the water. White people love being near water.

2. Example of an Indian food stall. So many more to come.

[Sundae]

Warned, you have been.
I need to lose 30lbs and gain £1000 and then I can take these home.

[Sundae]

1. Carmen Miranda style shoes that even I acknowledged I wouldn't be able to walk in.
Coveted them anyway.

2. Mum surprised me by saying if she had the money and a wedding to go to, she would love a pair of these. She'd have to have enough money to sort her bunion out first though