Brixton

Saturday was the first day of the first Bank Holiday in May. Woot! I had big plans with the Irishman, and we attacked them with a vengeance.

Our plans were located in Brixton, south London, an area known for its Caribbean and African neighborhoods and rock scene. We had tickets to see Doves at the 02 Academy, and decided to make a day of it and visit a few places - namely the Brixton Market and its famous Franco Manca pizza restaurant (see separate post). Of course, the London Underground was helpfully doing repairs on the main tube line into Brixton, so we had the added adventure of negotiating our way to Brixton from nearby Stockwell. How very London.

Brixton is, of all the areas I've explored in London, the closest in attitude, vibe, and atmosphere to New York. It really reminded me of the part of South Brooklyn I lived in - lots of bodegas, groceries, and hardware stores, a multicultural demographic, and a bit of grit. We wandered around the Brixton market for while, noting all of the import shops and butchers (and made plans for returning with shopping lists of ingredients for a few feasts), and then we couldn't wait any longer and went for the food.

Post-pizza, there was a critical rugby game that the Irishman just had to watch. So we found an Irish pub (of course) and spent the rest of the afternoon watching 2 Irish teams battle it out for some spot in some final of some rugby tournament. Then it was off to the O2 Academy for Doves. I've loved Doves for a long time, and it was pretty much a dream come true to see them live. The show was amazing, with great film shorts projected behind the band for most of the songs. They finished with a cover of a Faithless song, and we left thrilled.