Borough Market

My restlessness struck again. I woke up this morning feeling the need to be in the city again, so off we went to walk along the South Bank and check out Borough Market. Another bus ride to Putney and a long haul on the District tube line right to the Tower of London. It was another sunny, relatively warm day (high of 13), perfect for walking around the city. We wandered around the Tower, took some pictures of Tower Bridge from the North Bank, then walked across toward the market.

I really enjoy the walk from Tower Bridge to Borough Market. This path along the river is called "The Queen's Walk", so I guess that's another thing Her Majesty and I have in common (on top of love of Earl Grey and Corgis).  We snapped more pictures of the Bridge and of the financial district on the South Side. I don't much care for modern architecture, but the financial district's skyline is quite nice. After a slight detour (hunting for a lost Oyster Card) we made it to the Market right before sunset.

Having visited this market last summer with The Moms, I knew what to expect. Food stalls with fresh produce, butchers, cheese wheels bigger than your head, fruit you can smell before you can see, cakes/pies/sweets that make your mouth water and your tummy growl...et cetera, et cetera.  It's really just a typical farmer's market, but  it's the location of Borough Market that I love. It's somewhat hidden, tucked away under a bridge and therefore frequented only by regulars or lost tourists. The stalls are warmly lit with hanging open bulbs, adding to the ambiance and painting the whole market in a hazy fog that makes it seem even more special.

I blame this dizzying lighting and the sweet smells of happiness for my (irresponsible) purchase of a slice of tempting lemon cheesecake and personal pork & apple pie to reheat for dinner sometime soon. These delicacies were reasonably priced, which made it even harder to resist.  Mostly though, they were hunger-driven impulse buys. After wandering around the market a bit more, Patrick followed his nose to a delicious (£6) pork/applesauce/spices sandwich. The pork loin was cooked to perfection, and wonderfully complemented by the apple sauce (I know because I stole a few bites). Hunger staved (for a short while anyway), we decided to walk across London Bridge to catch the tube home. It was another wonderful day in my wonderful, favourite city.

See?





The Sun setting behind Tower Bridge.

 The financial district skyline (North Side)

Tower Bridge from the South Bank

A mosaic of old school London Skyline (circa 14th century)

         Happy Borough Market Shoppers     Cakes, pies, and other sinful things

Produce and other goodies

Beautiful flowers