Regular readers may remember this post I did for my 29th birthday on the 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. One of the points was to spend a weekend a month properly exploring London (I’ve lived here 3.5 years now and I still feel there are entire areas I’m yet to get to know) and more specifically, to make a trip East to the Columbia Road Flower Market which had been on my ‘To Do’ list since I first arrived here.
After seeing the post, some fashion friends emailed to say they wanted to help me work through my list and do this one with me (London exploration combined with a girl date is a big win in my book), so into the diary it went. Hurray!
And so one Sunday a few weeks back, we all met at the foot of Columbia Road for a day of boutique-rummaging, eating and flower-buying. Undeterred by the rain, we wove our way up the length of the flower market, pausing to smell giant bunches of roses and giggle at the cockney cries of “10 for a fiver!” and “hello, gorgeous!”. We ducked into all the darling little boutiques (thankfully, this entire stretch is unblemished by boring chain stores so everything still feels unique and special) to buy stationery (at Supernice), sweets (at Suck and Chew, which felt like a magical retro sweet emporium) and vintage teacups (at Vintage Heaven), and hunted for the best coffee and poached eggs for brunch (at Campania Gastronomia, in case you were wondering).
Afterwards, I met another friend for more treasure-hunting (in between scumptious plum jam donuts at Lily Vanilli and cooing over papercut art at Rob Ryan’s Ryantown), before heading over to Brick Lane for hot bagels with cream cheese (thereby ticking off another item on my London list).
It really was the perfect London day, and it reminded me just how fun it is to play tourist in our own city. 
Wearing: Lover dress (from The Outnet), Whistles leather jacket, Mulberry ‘Lily’ bag (seen here), Michael Kors watch (similar style here), Mimco cuff (old), Jersey Pearl pearls.
So tell me, how you play tourist in your corner of the world?
Love, Miss B xx
Columbia Road Flower Market is on every Sunday, rain or shine (though the shops, cafes and boutiques are open every day). Arrive early for the best selection of flowers, or pick up a bargain (as in, 10 giant bunches of flowers for £5!) in the afternoon when the stallholders want to go home. Nearest tube: Old Street.
