We then walked around the posh residential areas of West London, Notting Hill, Holland Park and Kensington. While London has great historical and cultural sites that are world famous, so do many cities in Europe. But I think what makes London special are the many neighborhoods that make up the city. These villages used to be completely independent, but are now loosely bound up into modern-day London. But they still have their own governments and, more importantly, their own look and feel, and they are well worth exploring. Since Portobello Market is in Notting Hill, we started our exploring there. Somehow this neighborhood even today (2007) has the reputation of being bohemian and slightly dangerous but it was well and truly gentrified even when I lived there, so the reputation is pretty hard to justify.