10 November | East London

Wandered through the Spitalfields Market in Shoreditch (east London) on Sunday—full of new clothing designers, gourmet cupcakes, Turkish and Lebanese food, hip hop music, handmade jewelry, and vintage shops. It's a couple blocks from Brick Lane, so I went back there too. Loved it. This part of London feels different—much older, less renovation, more run-down, creepy old churches, narrow alleyways, but more character. This is Jack the Ripper territory (oh, I forgot to write about the tour I went on Halloween night...). Most of the murders happened in the East End.

Me being spooky on Halloween. Jack the Ripper dumped one of the bodies outside this church (which is just as creepy in the daytime)

This pub is on the corner next to the church. It was briefly renamed the Jack the Ripper Pub, but some women complained that it was uncouth to name a pub after a serial rapist.

But now, the East End is a mix of Middle Eastern and Asian communities, artsy people, mosques and churches, languages I can't place, decrepit building next to beautiful loft next to Bangladeshi community centers next to a Jewish bagel shop next to an independent clothing shop. The people who live in this part of the city seem to really love their community.