London - August 29 - 31 - Notting Hill Carnival

We wrapped our August by...enjoying??...experiencing??...surviving??...the Notting Hill Carnival. If you've never heard of it, it's a massive festival celebrating Caribbean culture, that basically takes over all of Notting Hill. Many of the local shops board up their doors and windows for the weekend...and those boards are immediately covered with graffiti artwork - some of which was amazing. The streets are closed to cars for several blocks in every direction. There are pop-up food and adult beverage tents all over the area, including a Jamaican Jerk Chicken tent that was just a couple doors down from our flat...it was quite good. Caribbean music on every corner - though the sound stations as they were called did end at a reasonable hour. All of it capped off with a massive parade with a ton of participating...bands??...troupes??...teams?? of bejeweled and befeathered dancers/marchers and drummers competing for various parade prizes. It was a...spectacle! BTW - We also took a walk to the Columbia Road Flower Market and went to a production of Cats at the Regent's Park outdoor theater...both were also very cool.