The other weekend, on Caitlin's recommendation, Andrew and I headed south of the river to check out London's Borough Market. Caitlin had mentioned that this is her favourite market and one of her favourite places in London. The market has a long and impressive history. It is London's oldest fresh food market. Old is the right word; there has been a market in the vicinity for over 2000 years.

Located on the South bank of the Thames next to Southwark Cathedral, the Borough Market is the place to go for all your fresh produce needs. It's also a great place to pick up that extra something special you can't find in your local Morrisons (def: Woolies).


Think Pyrmont Growers Markets (PGM) on steroids. Not only is the Borough Market about four times the size of PGM, it's also about twice as crowded. Our visit coincided with lunchtime and it was standing room only.


The standard foodie delicacies (bread, cheese, olives etc) were on show but the market does have an obvious British and European slant. The vast number of cheese stalls must be a result of England's proximity the continent. I was in turophilic heaven! Especially as the cheesemongers were more than happy to let me sample their wares. In the Butcher's refrigerators alongside the lamb roast and beef mince we were slightly startled to see rabbit carcasses on sale. One butcher had a deer (headless and gutted) strung up outside his stall. Not something you see back home.


Although busy, lunch time was ideal timing for hungry fushies. It meant we had empty tummies ready to welcome borough market goodies. We stuck with classics and had burgers for lunch (Andrew - beef, Jess - lamb). Next time we may brave the lines and try the Venison burger. For take-home goodies we picked up some clementines (def: mandarins), kalamata olives and some dolmades. We're really missing Woolies' deli counter at Marrickville metro.

Although it was crowded and a tad expensive, the market was well-worth a visit. We'll definitely be back, if only for more olives and dolmades. I think I might take a proposed dinner plan next time so as to guide my Borough wanderings.

Ahhh, Venice... Last weekend Andrew and I spent three idyllic days in Venice. Whenever we mentioned the name of the city, we would prefix it with a sigh... ahhh Venice. Yes, Venice really is that beautiful.

We spent our mini-break exploring the city. We wandered the back streets, we visited a few of Venice's many churches, we admired the glittering mosaics in St Mark's Basilica, we sipped a $12 coffee while enjoying the sunshine in Piazza San Marco, we indulged in a scoop of gelato every day and we paused on every bridge we crossed to admire the view.

We were sad to say goodbye to Venice. It is such a wonderful city with a unique and interesting character. Although, the weather alone would have been enough of an enticement to stay... and maybe the gelato *G*.

Tower Bridge, along with the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, it's one of London's most recognisable attractions. Since we moved to London I've only caught tantalising glimpses of it as we drove past on a bus, from the top of St Paul's cathedral, from the Millennium Bridge. I decided it was time to get up and close and personal with Tower Bridge.


The bridge was designed to complement the Tower of London for which it is named. They make a perfect pair; the historic Tower of London and the striking Tower Bridge. Since 1894 the bridge has been an iconic symbol of London.


There is an enclosed walk way at the top of Tower Bridge that has now been turned into a museum. The price of admission also allows access to a museum containing the steam engines originally used to open and close the bascules.

I can't say that the museum was worth the £5.50 entrance fee. There were a couple of videos on why and how the bridge was built. The view from the walkway wasn't fantastic. You get a better view from the top of St Paul's or the Eye. Personally I think you should save your money. The best view is of the bridge itself and you don't have to pay to look at that!

One day I'll head back to watch the bridge open to let a ship pass through. I think that would be impressive to watch.

Walk 2: A Monopoly on Wealth

When I mentioned to Paddy that we'd been for a walk in Mayfair and down Park Lane his reply was "Monopoly board". Those of us who grew up in Australia and the UK know that Mayfair and Park Lane are the two most expensive properties on the Monopoly board. Worth 400 and 350 quid respectively (I wish!). (We mentioned Mayfair and Park Lane to our canuckian friends John and Leah and their response was "eh?". They grew up with the American version of Monopoly).

On our walk last weekend we explored the Mayfair and Park Lane area. I'm not sure if they are still the most expensive areas in London. Although, judging by the cars parked on the streets (can't park your car there if you don't own a beamer, a merc or better) they are still pretty exclusive. Our guide for the day, Jon Ronson the author of the walk, didn't know much about the area but he did have a very droll sense of humour, which made up for the lack of research.


On our walk we explored:

• Selfridges Food Hall -- Selfridges is an upmarket department store a la David Jones. Although I think it's slightly swankier than David Jones. I sampled a Lamb and Rosemary pie from the Square Pie Company for morning tea. Andrew bought some Turkish Delight from the confectionary counter. (We ate it later that night. It was delicious. Particularly the coconut flavoured delight.) The produce in the food hall was amazing. And it was all from the "right country". The Turkish Delight was from Turkey and the Champagne from France (otherwise it wouldn't be Champagne.) It's one advantage of being so close to the continent. Everything is authentic!
  
  
  
• Marble Arch -- perched on the middle of a roundabout, Marble Arch was originally on the Mall, a gateway to Buckingham Palace. It was moved to its present location in 1851 during the construction of the east front of the Palace. Our guide book told us that commoners were not allowed to pass under the arch and that if we dared to do so we would be beheaded (the English are fond of a beheading). Well, Andrew and I dared to do so and our heads are still intact. (Surprisingly, Wikipedia says the same thing, but there is no barrier to prevent people from passing under the arch. I wonder what the true story is?)
  
  
  
• American Embassy -- The American Embassy is a mini Fort Knox in the heart of London. Our guide book talked of a controversy when small concrete pylons were placed outside to prevent suicide bombers like Timothy McVeigh from driving close to the Embassy. I wonder what the neighbours are saying now, because when we arrived it was a completely different story. The concrete pylons are still there but they've certainly upped the security since then. The streets directly adjacent to the embassy are blocked off to traffic. The embassy has two sets of fencing. First off, there is a barricade fence about a metre and a half in width and then behind that a high cyclone fence. Ain't nobody getting in!
  
  
  
• Bond St -- Bond St is home to all the swanky shops and boutiques. Dressed in jeans, a bonds hoodie and hiking boots I certainly didn't feel adequately dressed to actually step in any of these shops. Apparently we weren't qualified to even look in the windows! When I was ogling a pair of beautiful but very expensive shoes in the window at Jimmy Choo, the shop assistant actually came over to the window and gave us a filthy look. Well excuse me!
  
  
  

Our walk continued through Mayfair past impressive houses, through Berkeley Square and into a hidden garden on Mount Street. Our guidebook told us to stop and admire a beautiful little cottage on the edge of Mount Street gardens. Jon Ronson said "whoever owns this wonderful house must have had tremendous good fortune in their lives, and they consequently deserve a few months of backpackers standing outside, pointing and gurgling merrily. It will redress the karmic balance a little." It certainly made us giggle.


Once again, we finished our walk in a pub, this time in Shepherd Market (right near where Andrew is currently working... aha! Work!). Our four and a half kilometre walk completed; another piece of the London puzzle revealed.

I must be going through a "place for everything and everything in its place" phase at the moment. Or maybe I'm just enjoying my abundance of spare time and using it to do some web design. Whatever it is, I have designed a new site for all our UK memories.

I'll be placing all our UK adventures, past, present and future, on our pommy site. Although, the future memories will probably make an appearance here first.