Markets galore!

One thing I really love about this city are all the different things there are to do for free, museums and parks but most of all the markets!  This Saturday I went to Portabello Road and Bourough Markets and they were so much fun! I intend to go back every Saturday I'm here.  There are just such interesting things to see and bargain for and eat.  Portabello is mainly merchandise, vintage stuff, imported things, and near the end it gets like a quirky garage sale with "everything and anything a chap can unload." And if you get that reference I'll love you forever.  Bourough Market is an all food market! Talk about a dream come true!  They have produce, and cheeses, and all kinds of meat including ostrich and wild boar, there are whole booths devoted to different flavored olive oils and gourmet vinegars.  They give out samples of nearly everything, and one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted is apricot balsamic vinegar with a little mellow extra virgin olive oil.... dip some crusty-delicious bread in that and you won't know what hit you.  They also had stalls with all sorts of confections like baklava and chocolate covered fruit and Turkish delight, they also had every kind of pastry imaginable from croissants to tangerine cheesecake.  I wandered around these markets all day.  For part of my time at Portabello I was with this girl Amberly from my group and we had a good get-to-know-you hang out and I felt like we were actually friends instead of just acquaintances by the end.  Oh and there was this amazing sale on peaches 8 for a pound and so Amberly and I each paid 50 pence and each got four peaches, they were delish!  I love just wandering the city alone, is that weird? I have learned something very important about myself, if I spend too much time with the same people I start getting annoyed and cranky, but if I spend too much time alone I disappear into my melancholy thoughts.  Not to get too philosophical on you guys but I've realized there must be balance in all things.
On Sunday, after Stake Conference where President Monson spoke to us, I went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey number one because I was curious, and number two because you can get into the Abbey for free if you go to a service on a Sunday.  So we went and it was a very interesting experience.  Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or "mormon") myself it was cool to see how a different church service is conducted.  When we first walked into the ancient Abbey there was organ music playing, but it was in a minor key so it gave more of a haunted-mansion feel than a church feel.  Everything in that place is so old!! I could just picture monks shuffling about the halls and lighting the candles.  The service included a lot of singing from the men and boys choir and it was beautiful, the acoustics in the Abbey are ridiculously good.  The rich deep tones of the men and the clear bell-like voices of the boys blended into a gorgeous mixture that bounced off all the stone walls and vaulted ceilings until you didn't know where the sound was coming from.  Who needs surround sound?  There was a lot of standing and sitting involved with the service and they had a handout to tell us when and what we were supposed to say/sing.  After we got done with the service we decided to go over to St. Paul's because there was an organ recital going on there.  St. Paul's is VERY different inside than Westminster, first off it is HUGE,  easily three or four times the size of the Abbey, and it is much more modern inside.  It has a black and white marble tiles on the floor and everything is done in marble and gold and the ceilings are higher and there are hardly any stained glass windows (All the windows at the Abbey were stained glass) but it has a lot more paintings, the whole ceiling is covered with paintings of Christ's life and the apostles.  I wasn't supposed to take pictures in either the Abbey or St. Paul's but I was very sneaky and got a couple anyway. It was just too beautiful, I couldn't resist.  All in all a wonderful, peaceful day full of beautiful music and beautiful architecture.