a spring wander around brixton, london

what is it about blogging, lately? i have a theory that other forms of social media is slowly killing off blogging (do you agree?) and i am taking staunch measures to prevent this, at least for myself. in the past, if i haven’t written, it meant i couldn’t think of anything to say. nowadays, over six and a half years into my life abroad, if i don’t write, i’m too busy with life or my personal studies (language or herbalism). 

but! i can’t let spring fade sweetly into warm, sun-drenched summer without talking a little tiny bit more about our spring day out in brixton at the end of april. and boy, do i hate writing about things that happened over a month ago, but i will try to not let that happen again.

we started off that sunday morning wandering from clapham north where we’d stayed westward over into the colorful district of brixton (did you know it is the birthplace of david bowie?). apparently there is a pedestrian bridge there that we only discovered once we got there… but if we had found that, we wouldn’t have stumbled upon funchal bakery on stockwell road, this delightful portuguese cafe with the most delicious baked goods this side of porto. we munched on

pastéis de nata

and bolos de arroz while we noticed that we were the only ones in the cafe who ordered in english. while sipping our mochas, i was distracted by watching our american president on a portuguese news channel. london, man. that was a weird place to find oneself.

as soon as we’d passed the murals, we knew we were there. there was a lovely farmer’s market going on where i basically just strolled and felt like weeping for what glorious produce these londoners have access to. lots of families and locals were in their sunday best, perhaps ready for church.

we walked down to the charming square where ritzy cinema is. this cinema! what a beauty! apparently it was one of the first in london, and it sort of looks like it was. we were very charmed by it. if i were staying longer, i’d definitely want to catch a flick.

we found a tesco and waited until it opened at 10am with, like, twenty other people which i thought was a funny locals’ experience. but you know, i just really wanted to do some shopping.

eventually, we circled on back towards the center of brixton towards brixton market, which is just this huge, sprawling complex near electric avenue (you know, that one song – welcome to electric avenue?). so many food stalls and shops – how could you ever choose? but i had one idea in mind: i wasn’t leaving brixton without some authentic jamaican food. we found all that and more at fish, wings and tings which i can highly recommend but spicy alert! 

although i don’t think you could go wrong with any of these eateries in brixton village, we thoroughly enjoyed the international flavor (and the jerk chicken) here! i mean, what’s supposed to be the most authentic food outside of the west indies, we couldn’t exactly pass that up.

then it was on with the rest of our day – the day of the london marathon and our last full day in the city. i had some more shopping to take care of, as much residential wandering as i could fit in (we saw plenty of foxes in clapham!), and people watching and a pint of ale at a pub. i definitely would say we made the most of that weekend, and i already look forward to returning. once again, it bears repeating: london is a fascinating city to wander around in, and i liked the colorful and very diverse local working-class color of these south london neighborhoods like clapham and brixton. it was so refreshing after being in the city of westminster, which of course, has its own merits, but you know.

have you ventured down to brixton? what is your favorite neighborhood in london?