Sometimes this small town gal hops on a train and goes to see the big city lights. Normally there is a good reason for it, like two Sundays ago: meeting one of my best friends from college who is also living abroad at the moment.

Shoreditch was the chosen place, and as I hadn’t been there in aaaaages, I had to ask my lovely friend to snap a few photos for you along the way, so all the credits to her! 🙂

Picture in your head a sunny day, food stalls with yummy smells everywhere, live music (even inside a van!), smiley people, your bestie on your side… Wouldn’t you call that the perfect Sunday? ♥

Shoreditch, an area now within the limits of the East End of London, was transformed into an entertainment district around the Tudor times (end of the 16th century), hosting the first playhouse of England, quaintly called The Theatre. The district started rivalling the famous West End and it even saw some of Shakespeare’s first plays before his company moved to The Globe.

Even though Shoreditch was a poor middle-class neighbourhood in the 19th century and was pretty much destroyed during WWII, it was extensively renovated during the 1950s. In the past couple of decades, this area has grown in popularity as a young and creative neighbourhood, mainly due to numerous tech companies and start-ups opening their bases around Old Street.

Nowadays Shoreditch is full of buzz, little cafés & restaurants, street murals, flower markets, vintage shops, art galleries, live music… you name it! A sneak peek of this and of my casual outfit with a newly found pair of vintage high-raise black jeans if you keep scrolling down 😉

If you ever visit Shoreditch, here’s my top 3 must-sees:

1. Brick Lane: home to all the things I was mentioning above, plus the uber-famous Beigel Shop serving the best salt beef bagel in London. Prepare to queue up for a while before you can taste it though!

2. Columbia Road Flower Market: a stunning visual and olfactory display well worth a visit! All the flowers you can think of can be found here, the florists shouting their offers at all the passers-by, cute delis, art galleries and antiques shops flanking the market street. It is only open on Sunday mornings, and everyone has heard of its beauty and charm by now, so be ready for a crowd directing your steps rather than a peaceful stroll along the stalls 😉              

3. Old Spitalfields Market: really close to Liverpool Street train station and full of all sorts of goods, from vintage cameras and stuffed animals to custom made shoes and independent designers’ creations. It’s a covered market and a bit quieter than the heart of Shoreditch, so if you are not a huge fan masses, this is the place to go. You can of course take a bite in one of the stylish restaurants or affordable stalls in the market.

Bonus – street food: if you hadn’t realised it yet, I am a massive food baby, so I can assure you that you’ll be totally spoilt for choice in Shoreditch. My friend tried an Ethiopian meal in a food court and I ended up in this French stall where they were serving duck meat brioche buns with caramelised onion, cheese, mustard and rocket salad. Yummy!!!

And couldn’t resist taking a few pics before a colourful door. When we were snapping the one on the pink doorstep, the owner just came in and jokingly told us “£5 per photo!” 😀

Have you ever visited Shoreditch? What was your favourite spot?

Hope you are having an awesome weekend, glamistas!

Love & Peace

Saida

{Primark Baseball Suede Jacket} {Vintage Mom Black Jeans}

{H&M Lawyer Stripes Shirt} {Primark shoes & bag} {ASOS Sunnies} {H&M rings} {Warehouse Earrings}