Camden Market

The day's plan was to go to Camden Market, so off we went after breakfast. It was my first time to Camden market and I was a bit curious to see the place in person. We arrived early so it was still  quiet. The shops along the street were open, it was Black Friday with many shops putting big signs on the window announcing the BIG discount they offered.

They sell all sort of things over there, including foods of all kinds, leather bags, clothes, art and crafts too. Lots to see and plenty to choose from. It's quite pleasant to walk around as well. I came across a place that sells homemade leather products especially bags and got myself one.

More people came as the time went by and we decided it was time to leave, but not before DH grabbed a box of food from one of the few Thai food stalls there.  

Tianzifang, Shanghai

Tianzifang is one of the places in Shanghai that we like to visit. They have little shops that sell arts and crafts, galleries, restaurants and boutiques to name a few. There are many coffee shops and bars too. We just like to walk around, go in some shops and get a thing or two of the stuff we like and take plenty of pictures.

Chatuchak Market, Bangkok

Chatuchak is a very popular market in Bangkok. It is the largest in the city and one of the largest in the world. Its website says that the market is divided into 27 sections and there are more than 15,000 booths selling all sort of products from various parts of Thailand. 

We spent a good couple of hours over there and visited only a small part of the market. After getting what we needed to get over there, i.e some pants for Miss K and friends, and some sightseeing on what they have, we decided to leave. It was very hot and crowded. We met a couple that sell clothing and they were extremely nice people that I could not be bothered to bargain. They gave us candies after we paid and wished us a happy new year. Some of the sellers were not as friendly as majority of how Thai people are known for, but they were still quite hospitable. 

Shopping At Ikea...

I needed a Queen size quilt cover and the easier way to get it, is from Ikea. They display everything they have and that is just easier for me to choose. It is easier than getting one from most department stores that carry so many brands that make my head spin madly. It's for one of the kids' room and I was looking was something simple that do not clash with the pattern and colors of the curtain in the room. We went at lunch time and parking lot was quite filled up. People like to get lunch from their cafe. Those Swedish meatballs are great bargain! Their desserts are yummy too. Hmmm....

My mission was successful. Of course, I ended up with two bowls and two mugs that I truly do not need, a new kitchen timer (because I could not be bothered to find the ones that I have bought and stored really well, somewhere, and they are cheap), a big plate that I also do not really need and a couple of towels for one of my brothers. I think that's pretty much it. Two heavy bags. I might have forgotten to mention one or two others.

M&M Store

Orlando's M&M world was opened in 2005 as the second M&M store after Las Vegas. It is located in the Florida Mall, central Florida's largest and most popular shopping destination. Their website says that the store is 16,000 square–feet of colorful chocolate fun and holds over 7000 items, including apparel, household goods, jewelry, toys, and a collector's gallery of specialty items.It also features a full size #38 FORD Fusion NASCAR!

26th Day

Today marked the 26th day of us being in the USA this Summer. After such a long drive and going places around the East Coast and Midwest for 21 days, we flew down south to Orlando for a holiday that feels more like the one that we had prior to coming here.

Orlando gives us such a great feeling, the atmosphere is fantastic, it is a tourist place but yet I don't feel like being in a tourist-y type of place. I know I don't explain myself well here, but for the first time in a long time, I really like the place I am visiting right now. When we came here two and a half years ago, we stayed at Disney resort and only visited Disney parks, which was too much too handle already. But now, we discovered so much more of Orlando.

Unlike our previous visit here, we now drive, therefore we see places that we didn't see before. We can see the wide clean roads, the parks around, the restaurants by the road, the hotels, etc. Driving here is definitely much more relaxing compared to driving around Chicago, Boston or New York. People are not necessarily friendlier than those in other places that we have been to, they just respond differently. Most of them are visitors, coming with the kids or older parents and everyone is busy looking out for each other.

In the theme parks that we went to, we saw many groups of teenagers coming from Brazil and probably some other countries from the southern part of the continent. We saw people from many other countries as well. People that work in the hotels, restaurants, parks mostly come from outside Orlando too. It is almost like a melting pot to me.

In my humble opinion, this is definitely an international place where you can also find food from various origins from all over the world. Your need for food is well taken taken care of here. Aside from the regular establishments that you can find elsewhere like Denny's. Uno's Chicago Grill, Taco Bell, TGIF, Olive Oil, Cheesecake Factory, etc, there are plenty of Chinese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Brazilian, Mexican, Italian restaurants, etc.

Orlando is also a great place to shop. We have visited a couple of their super-fantastic malls: Florida Mall and Mall at Millenia. They also have an excellent selections at their Factory Outlets: Orlando Premium Outlets and Prime Outlets. It is definitely so hard to go home empty handed, giant sale signs are everywhere! Even when you do not need anything, you are likely end up buying something. Target shops and Wal-mart stores are within the vicinity too.

I definitely want to come back here for more. It is no wonder that the region estimated a total of more than 52 million visitors a year, there's so much of everything for everybody.