UK - Day 15...Weekend Fun

I am ready for a weekend after all the organized touring this week! Keith, Paul and I decide to start it off at the Camden market. Calling it huge would be an understatement. Outside, the vendors' booths go on and on, and there are buildings besides with more shops and vendors inside!
Paul and I end up with new hats, and Keith buys a man bag.
For lunch, we try out some Indian food. I go for some mild veggies and rice, and it is delicious! I'm happy to know even a spice wimp can eat ethnic foods known for their extreme spices.
After lunch, we sit along the Camden locks watching the boats come and go, and Paul pulls out his supplies to watercolor. That's a skill I admire and certainly do not have.
We spend most of the day at Camden and then decide to hop on a bus and just ride on the top deck until we see something we'd like to get off to explore. From our perspective on the top deck, we see something ironic:
We dismount near the city hall and wander that river walkway, near Tower Bridge again because Paul hasn't spent time here. Then we opt to walk the side streets and see what we can see.
In the commercial district, we check out the Gherkin and the Lloyds of London building. Lloyds of London is quite possibly the strangest looking highrise building I have ever seen! The design called for all of the systems (mechanical, circulation, etc.) to be on the outside of the building with the core reserved for the actual functions of the residents - exactly the opposite of most buildings.
We end up at a pub in the middle of a very quiet neighborhood and go inside. There isn't an empty seat to be found, and all customers are staring and/or yelling at the televisions. Apparently the cricket game in session has some fans! We decide to occupy the one free patio table outside and hopefully meet some locals. The group at the other table comes over before long to say hello to the obvious foreigners. The older gentleman, lady, and two young adults have been here for awhile, we can tell, and are very animated and redundant in their conversation. The older gentleman tells us over and over that he loves Americans and that Kent is the garden of England and we must go there, all the while the bug-eyed younger male argues that there is nothing to do there and it would not be a good idea to go! They banter back and forth about this, off and on as the subject of conversation changes and makes its way back again. At one point, the younger lad goes on about how ridiculous it is that business people ride scooters to work, in their suits and all...ooooo...and what if the police rode segways!!! With this new idea running through his mind, he jumps on his imaginary segway and impersonates a cop, desperately leaning forward to catch a speeding motorist. Paul, Keith and I are laughing hysterically and our new comedian friend eats it up. I'm nearly in tears when the older fellow interrupts him so he can tell us (for the umpteenth time) about how much he loves Vegas and how lovely Kent is. We decide this is a good time to part ways.
The next bus we take is supposed to head in the general direction of home, according to navigator Paul, and we decide to once again ride with our eyes out the window looking for a fun place for dinner. Nothing is looking familiar or interesting, but we get tired of the bus, so jump off at the first stop that seems to have some life on the street. Apparently all of those people just came from a bus because within a few minutes, the street is mostly deserted again and we realize there isn't much to see here. But, we are hungry and notice a restaurant on this block. It is called The Cave and a lady standing outside tells us that it's the best place ever - Indian food and belly dancers!
Well...we already had Indian food today and belly dancers don't appeal to any of us so we thank her and continue down the sidewalk. We are about to give up and catch the next bus when we hear music. Following it down a short alley that opens up into a courtyard of sorts, we stumble upon the gem in this neighborhood - the Dalston Culture House. People are gathered in the square listening to music and dancing a little and a small crowd is gathered in the tiny restaurant/pub on the ground floor. Going inside, we see that they are featuring Brazilian food and music today. There is only one table and it is occupied so we make ourselves comfortable on a couch and decide what to order. By the time our food comes, the table has opened and we relocate there to enjoy our steak, sausage, chicken, bread, rice, salsa, and black bean stew by candlelight. We couldn't help but sample the whole menu! As we finish and the sun sets, the place really fills up and it is a lively crowd! One lad is demonstrating how to fit into a child's pool donut...best of luck to him. It is time for us to figure out where we are in the world and find a way home.
As it turns out, we are nowhere near our lodging and need to catch a bus to find the Tube and get on home before the main transit lines shut down and we have to pay for a cab.
As we're riding along in the silent tube train with other tired travelers, a group of fellows walk to the most open area of the train and pull instruments out to play! a trumpet, accordian, and drums certainly lighten the mood here and soon we're exchanging smiles with strangers.
Then, the musicians go around collecting money and I realize why some people avoid eye contact with them the entire time. As if you must pay up if you let on that you enjoyed their sound or even heard it...