23 November, 2010
London in October 2010, Part 2: Borough Market, the London Bridge, and Camden Town
Comments : 2 Posted in : Dining in London - UK, Travel Guide for London - England - UK on by : The Gourmez
For our third day in London, we had a theme: FOOD. I didn’t actually do much tasting of food, but I did smelling and looking galore. London has many markets, and one of the best is the Borough Market, located in Southwark on the south side of the Thames. It’s a blend of produce, meat, and cheese sellers and purveyors of a variety of ready-to-eat munchies. We rendezvoused with Scott, Zahir, and Sanaz after a little while and continued the market tour. Let the food show begin!
That last picture is of the Southwark Cathedral, which is right next to the sprawling grounds of the Borough Market. I thought it quite lovely, especially in a photo coming up in a bit. This next picture is also not of food, but of an impressive apartment complex with golden lines.
I told you in the last blog that this trip showed me just how much I love gold. A lot! Now back into the market:
Yep, I basically wanted it all, and thus, refrained entirely. I regret that now, especially not partaking of this one vendor’s slabs of bread that were absolutely covered in dripping cheese and served up with pickles. I don’t know what they were, nor did I get a picture, but if you have any ideas, let me know. Pretty sure he had the longest line by far. Even food, one can only peruse for so long, so Ben and I wandered off toward the nearby London Bridge for more sightseeing. And we bumped right into Zahir, who had the same idea. This was our first view of the Gherkin, perhaps London’s most famous skyscraper.
Not the Gherkin, but also a pretty building, right on the edge of the bridge.
And now, here are the views from the London Bridge.
And here’s Ben’s 360 degree view from the bridge. Make sure you right-click to view the whole image.
Finally, we had had enough of the Borough Market—those crowds are ridiculous. So where did we head? Where the sidewalks were nearly as packed as the Market, of course! We took the Underground to Camden Town, where Scott lives. This portion of the day is titled SHOPPING, though there was still some FOOD to be ogled. So basically, Camden Town is hipster/goth/punk central with lots of overpriced stores full of fashion for the stylish, and ultra-cool, young adult.
We walked along the avenue down to the Camden Lock Market, which is another area that looks deceptively small when you enter but never ends!
From there, we headed to Scott’s flat, then off in pursuit of the evenings’ pints and food.
After ciders at the very popular, neighborly Southampton Arms, we headed to Scott’s favorite local pub, the Lord Stanley, and had dinner. Photos weren’t great and neither is my memory of the dishes, but all the food was delicious except for the rabbit pie. Of course, we met yet another of Scott’s friends here. The man has friends everywhere.
We then parted ways for the evening, and Ben and I headed back to the hotel, passing this odd site along the way.
Coming up on London Part 3, probably next week, is the Tower of London, which was my absolutely favorite part of the trip, if only because it applies to my fantasy sensibilities so well. In the meantime, feel free to see more photos at our photo website.
2 thoughts on : London in October 2010, Part 2: Borough Market, the London Bridge, and Camden Town
Pingback: DIY Geekery: Circuit Board Lights! | Jim On Light
Pingback: Granville Island |