Camden Markets

When we lived in Chicago, I remember thinking that there must be an easier way to live. When it snowed we had to shovel out the car. When we wanted to go to the store, we had to consider how we'd get there, how much we bought and how much we could carry home. When we wanted to go downtown, we had to think about whether the train was going to be packed.

And then we had kids and life became more complicated with strollers and car seats and rain covers and commutes. And then we eliminated a million complications by moving to Deerfield. We had a garage. We had access to every store and chain imagineable. We had plenty of space...

Yet, when the opportunity to move to London was offered, we didn't once let the complexities that were sure to greet us change our minds. Not only that, but we made a promise to ourselves that if any outing or trip seemed too hard, we'd do it anyway. Because otherwise, how would we ever see the city and all the things around it with two kids?

We have stuck to that promise so far - but frankly we do that by planning way ahead and thinking through all of those plans to ensure we're prepared, therefore making it simpler on ourselves. For example, last Saturday we went to the Science Museum. We read about it online, knew where the kids spaces were, went early to beat the crowds, took the bus line that we were already familiar with, and even took a little picnic so we wouldn't be hungry. Oh, we were so proud.

But the true test of our promise came last Sunday when our friends called to invite us on a day trip to Camden. It was already 10:30 when we determined that would be a good way to spend the day. Both kids were already down for a nap and frankly, other than the tour books we had on hand calling Camden eclectic, we knew little else. But we jumped at the chance.

The first challenge came in getting there. We met up with our friends and their four kids and immediately entered a tube station with no lift. Honestly, not many tube stations have a lift, but it is especially daunting when you have a double stroller filled with two 25 pound kids. But, between M and I, we got the big Phil and Ted's stroller down to the train level. And we crammed onto the train with a million other people. And then came the transfer down to another train line - one of the many that is set down in the bowels of the earth and again has no lift. So we tested our skills on an escalator. And then crammed onto yet another crowded train. And then had to brave the stairs and escalators going up. I felt like we were on an obstacle course because these stations are not all one level, so we'd think we were done, after riding down an escalator, only to turn a corner and have 10 stairs up to climb.

Exhausted, we spilled out into Camden Markets, along with the million people from the trains, into a crowd of a million more. There were markets and shops crammed all around us selling everything from tourists goods, to Wellies, to lingerie, to grunge outfits, to tattoos. And of course, there we are again, taking up the room of 10 people with our big old stroller and now a toddler who decided she wanted to walk and dance ot the music.

There are times that people and crowds make me batty. But this was not one of those times. In fact, I loved it. The area was great, the people were fantastic to see, the vendors were unique and the smells of a million types of food were so appealing. We stopped and got a fresh donut that they frosted to Chloe's liking and we ate it on the side of the road watching the crowds. Then we went to Stables Market, which is a huge old stable filled now with markets and food vendors and huge metal and wood tables and benches. We found ourselves a corner out of the way and ate Indian food - samosas and potatoes/spinach and rice. The kids bought lollipops and then we headed out of the crowds on to Regent's Park.

And that made it feel like a day of opposites. We started the day in crowds with loud music and traffic. And we ended in Regent's Park, which was open and green and massive and had people playing sports and children running around. We played for a long time, after spending some time changing two children who had exploded and required an outfit change (did I mention that nothing is easy these days?) and then, when we were all too exhausted to continue, got milkshakes and sat contemplating the long journey home.

And it was long. And it was hard. And there were a gazillion stairs. But the kids, all six of them, were fantastic, and happy and tickled each other and danced around. And at the end of the day, as I was falling asleep at 8:30 p.m. for the night, I was so very proud of us.