London, Covent Garden

Covent Garden with its pedestrianised piazza, open-air cafés, stylish shops, markets and street entertainers is a huge attraction for visitors. The covered central market, for the fruit and vegetable wholesalers, was completed in 1830, but when the market moved out to Battersea in 1974, Covent Gardens, the old marketplace, was refurbished as an interesting shopping/entertainment center. No one would dare suggest replacing it with a modern cityscape. The building, with its glass and iron roof, provided a shell for a range of small shops and stalls selling arts, crafts, decorative items, antiques, designer clothes and books.

Prince Charles has said that British architects, with their modern architecture, have accomplished more devastation in London since WW II than Hitler’s Air Force did during the Blitz, but Covent Gardens was preserved, as it should have been.

We visited Covent Gardens, and found the flea market called Jubilee Market, was only open on Monday morning, and by now it was Monday afternoon. Emmy just ain’t got no luck at all on some days. But when we visited on a another Monday morning, we did find a nice heavy brass kettle that we bought.

We also found a Mrs. Thornton’s Special English Toffee store, and it really is! We don’t know if Mrs. Thornton’s Toffee will spoil after a few days or not, as it has never lasted long enough to find out.