One of those sun soaked October sundays which seem like a bonus, saw us jostling along to the medley of sights, sounds & smells which make the wonderful Columbia Road.
This street market specialising in flower & plant sales has been going for donkey's years (there has actually been a market on the site since 1869 apparently!).
The past decade or so has seen a whole host of lovely eateries & specialist shops springing up, including one owned by our lovely friend Rob Ryan, making this East London cobbled terrace the most splendid place to while away the hours, listening to buskers, nibbling at something delicious and of course procuring some wonderful blooms to liven up your living room, or plants to stuff your window boxes with.
A pit stop at the institution which is the Columbia Cafe for a wake me up coffee & bagel & we're off.
There were swathes of autumnal hydrangeas to be had but some wonderful chocolate scented, velvet petaled, Cosmos had caught my eye. Once these were duly wrapped in a cone of brown paper we negotiated our way toward some deep blue Aconitum that we'd spotted earlier. Couldn't resist a whole ton of other loveliness, so with lots more cones of brown paper we jostled our way back through the crowd, past the heaving Laxeiro Tapas bar and the oh so delicious Lily Vanilli, pockets emptier, hearts fuller.