I have to say, not doing touristy things has suited me quite well, but today in response to the eagerness and spirited demands of my younger sister, we became tourists. And...we had fun.
Big Ben, West-Minster Abbey, Royal Arts Academy, Southbank book market (LOVE), Covent Gardens, Oxford Circus, and best of all: Camden Town. Discovering the markets in Camden was finding that niche that I've been looking for since moving to London. Markets are my thing, and this one didn't disappoint. It was like wandering around Kreuzberg Berlin, feeding off the punk-ass vibe and the gothic cool. Chatting to merchants and sellers, some eager to make a sale, other happy enough just to talk and feed you story after story. This is where true art lies, within the stalls of those who make a living selling what they make. If you're good you make money. Simple as that. Unless you're years before your time and your ideas are rejected for being too avant-garde, but that is also art.
We met stone whisperer with a story for every single one of the pendants, earrings, necklaces and statues in his stall. For him it wasn't about the design of the rock, but about image hidden within its murky depths. Hold it up to the light with a little imagination and a whole story unveils. A man by the stormy seaside, a witch in the jagged mountains, two dolphins and their eternal friendship. Each stone was picked at a specific time and place to be given to a specific person under specific circumstances. Each one as unique as the next. The merchant wasn't old, late 40's perhaps, with a calm and soothing aura that would quickly become thunderous as soon as any of his stones were mistreated. Half Sioux, half Italian he travels the world collecting stories and experiences with which to feed his infinite wisdom. The world is full of cool people if you take the time to listen. It makes me sad that not many people do.
