Marylebone Grammar School.

After a good night’s sleep, we decided to head out on foot with only a tentative itinerary in mind. We had two shows booked and about six hours for exploring before then. We wanted to try and catch a boat ride at 10:30 am so we started walking that direction; up through King’s Cross and Marylebone to Little Venice.

Our friend George, highly recommended the phone app Maps.Me and so I’d downloaded the map of London as soon as we arrived. It’s a life-saver. What’s great is that once you have a map downloaded, you don’t need phone service to use it since it is GPS powered. We used it to get our bearings, locate points of interest and find the nearest Tube stops, never needing to worry when we’d wander off track.

We arrived in Little Venice early, giving us time to explore around the Regent’s Canal and grab breakfast at the Waterside Cafe. The restaurant itself, was a boat on the canal.

Jason’s Original Canal Boat Trip.

After breakfast, we boarded Jason’s Canal Boat Trip using our London Pass for a leisure ride around Regent’s Park (which covers 395 acres) to the Camden Locks. Jason’s has been operating since 1951 using a boat that’s over 100 years old.

The boat ride takes about 45 minutes. In addition to plenty of natural scenery, you glide past old and new estate homes, jogging paths and the London Zoo which flanks both sides of the canal.

Crossing under a bridge on the Regent’s Canal.

There are many bridges crossing the narrow canal allowing only enough width for one boat to pass through at a time.

At the end of the line, we reached the Camden Locks that are still manually operated to this day. The twin locks were originally constructed in 1818 and 1820. They now have Grade II historic designation and protections.

Camden Market

Welcome to Camden Market.

We got off the boat and found ourselves in a wonderland of food and unique treasures. The Camden Market started out open only on weekends but became so wildly popular it is now open daily.

Camden Market is an indoor and outdoor marketplace housed in multiple buildings and connecting streets. It’s a must-visit destination requiring anywhere from a couple hours to a full day of exploration.

Whether you are a treasure hunter, tourist or window shopper –there are multitudes of unexpected gems to taunt the senses. You can find food and trinkets here from all over the world.

Outdoor stalls at London’s Camden Market.

Several sellers exclusively merchandise to the Steampunk crowd.

Exotic textiles at Camden Market.

New and perfect-condition vintage clothing, steampunk accessories, old records, lamps, artwork, new and heirloom jewelry– it’s all here. If you can dream it- you’ll probably find it.

ZSL London Zoo

London has a truly first-class zoo. With a little time before our matinee, we used our London Pass  for fast-track entry and a rather rushed but enjoyable visit.

Opening in 1828, the London Zoo is the world’s largest scientific zoo. Today, the zoo features 756 species of animals.  It’s as much a park as it is a zoo. Large green spaces, well constructed exhibition grounds and something to appeal to all ages.

The carousel at the London Zoo.

Lions at the London Zoo.

Show Time

Matilda the Musical at Cambridge Theatre in Covent Garden.

We headed back to Covent Garden for the matinee performance of the musical, Matilda. Based on the popular children’s book, it made for a colorful and entertaining afternoon. I’m really glad we waited to see it here in London.

We had just enough time between shows to catch a nice dinner at Cote Bistro, in the theatre district.

Our evening performance was what might be considered standard British farce. The Play That Goes Wrong is funny, funny stuff. The plot centers on a community group putting on a play. As the title suggests, everything that can go wrong does so hysterically.

The Play That Goes Wrong at the Duchess Theatre.

For my theatre friends– every single thing that could possibly happen, or you have ever experienced going wrong in a show, is included. I couldn’t think of one possible thing they left out.

After the show, it was back to Shake Shack at Covent Garden Market for a chocolate-peanut butter concrete, then headed underground for our Tube ride back to St. Pancras.