On Sunday I saw an old friend of mine. It had been 8 years since we last caught up.
8 years!
And a lot has happened in that time. Currently living in Timor-Leste, Jen is living the high life with her boyfriend, 2 dogs and a great job. Jen was over for a work in Peterborough but staying in London and messaged to catch up.
It’s crazy how life happens. We knew each other years ago because she dated a friend of mine, and then life happened. Whilst she travelled a lot with work, I moved closer to home, before meeting Sam and moving to the Kentish coast and having Emily. We have tried on occasion to catch up and meet up when she stopped over in the UK before she travel to Sweden or somewhere in Europe, but usually the short notice meant it never happened.
But Sunday it was me, Emily and Jen.
We went to Camden, the first for Emily, the thousandth for me and Jen, it was great fun. I haven’t been to Camden in years, but apart from a few added extras and the expansion of Camden market, it’s pretty much the same, except for a lot more people, so many more tourists.
Camden market is home to over 1000 shops, stalls, bars and cafés that has been popular with locals and tourists for years. Open every day from 10 am till late, including bank holidays, Camden market is just a five minute walk from Camden Town station.
There are plenty of places to eat including Yorkshire Burrito, Nora & Nama, Rudy’s Dirty Vegan Diner, Roadkill, Roly’s Fudge Pantry and Only Jerkin‘. It’s also home to some of the most amazing shops around. If you’re looking for music you can go to the Camden Lock Vinyl which is all about the classics, Moomin and Littlephant, which has cute home decor and children’s products, and Turkish Delight which is the most gorgeous Turkish lamp shop which has lights that look like beautiful jewelled orbs.
We explored, chatted, drank tea and took an hour to find an ice cream on the wrong side of the dock. Even with the light rain, it was a generally quite chilled until the sun came out.
£3.95 for an ice cream! Only to find the shops closest to Camden Town station has tonnes of ice creams and ice cream vans! Typical.
We ate lunch at The World’s End which was like stepping back into my teen years, eating chicken wings and a bucket of chips, washed down with wine. Emily loved her beefeater duck and black cab duck we got from the market alongside Jen’s market finds.
We walked out into sunshine, the hottest sunshine, which was such a change from the milder weather an hour before. We walked to Mornington Crescent station and took the Northern line down to Leicester Square and walked around Covent Garden. A haven of shops, entertainment and youngsters everywhere taking photos of their food, ice cream and selves. Emily finding the heat a little bit too much napped for a while as we had a bottle of wine in a lovely bar in Covent Garden.
Whilst the heat was a little all over the place. It was great to catch up and have a girly day. It’s crazy to think so much has happened in those 8 years but we picked up exactly where we left off.
The day was lovely. Hot, but lovely. And even on the train home whilst Emily napped again, I reminisced how good it was to catch up with an old friend, even after all these years.
I don’t know when I’ll see Jen again. I’d love to say soon but who knows where her work will take her next. She mentioned plans of being closer to home (she’s Swedish) but the idea of being back in the U.K. or in Europe, she said would be great for her, but she has a life still in Miami and she’d have to plan it all around her two dogs too.
But whenever we do catch up again, it will be great to see her again. Besides, Emily loved her Jen!
Missy, Me & Him 