Semi-solo trip in London {Day 4}

June 25, 2016

This is the last day I’m touring London alone because Jeremy will be back from Paris the next day! It’s a bittersweet feeling because I can’t wait for him to explore London with me but I think I’ll miss the freedom to do anything I want. Unlike the past 2 days, I know what I gotta do today. I want to go to the Portobello market, there’s a 50-50 chance I may be meeting my old friend for lunch and I signed up for a walking tour. Sounds like a busy afternoon? It sure was!

>> Portobello Market 

If you love antiques, you will love this market. I enjoyed this market for the variety but if you are looking for food, you’ll be better off at the Camden or Borough market! There isn’t much to eat here but there’s plenty to look at 😉

I think Ems would really love these rings?

There are even stalls selling second-hand clothes, bags or furniture! I saw a Marc by Marc Jacobs bag on the racks and it was going for 30£?

Too much for one person but I didn’t care.

>> London Eye

Was supposed to meet my friend at the Southbank Market and stumbled on this park that has this amazing view of the London Eye! Have to take a few shots right? :p

>> Southbank Market

This market wasn’t on my radar till my friend highly recommended that I pop by. And I’m eternally grateful to her for doing so. I love this market so much that I brought Jeremy here and he loves the market too!

Disclaimer: This is a very small market and they sell ONLY food.

This is the duck confit burger (a.k.a heart attack in a bun) + fries fried in duck fat oil (a.k.a. 2 million calories in  a tiny bowl) but they are so, so, so worth it.

We only had an hour to catch up and it really wasn’t enough.So much has changed since we lost touch after our JC days and being able to reconnect this time is just one of those few things that made this London trip special!

 >> Old City Tour

After so much shopping and eating, of course it’s time to learn about the city that made all these possible. I signed up for the Sandeman’s Old City Walking Tour and although the weather was !@#@%#^, the tour made everything in London seem more meaningful?

More about the walking tour here > 

From Covent Garden, we walked to London Bridge (the not-so-good-looking bridge), St Paul’s Cathedral and the tour ended at Tower of London – which is great because that means you’ll have all the time to take photos of the Tower Bridge (the better-looking bridge)!

The guide doesn’t wait for you to take your selfies or group photos so consider this more as a crash course. Shortlist the places you want to spend more time at and come back again. I really wanted to visit the St Paul’s cathedral (our guide says you’ll get a good view of the old city) but we didn’t have time.

But we did come back to Tower of London! Our guide said, “If you only have enough time for one big attraction, make it this one”. I’ll blog more about this place in the other entry!

I was freezing to death but how to resist taking a photo with the Tower Bridge?

 >> Smack Lobster Rolls

If you’re dying to visit Burger and Lobster, then Smack should be on your bucket list too! They are under the same company and after trying them both, I think the lobster roll at Smack is comparable to the one at B&L – at half the price. But of course, Smack serves the lobster roll ala-carte and you’ll to pay extra for fries.

SO GOOD. It’s only 12£ and you get to choose from 3 different flavours. I really wanted to come back for another lobster roll but we had too little days. Here’s the menu and address:

Address: 58 Dean Street London W1D 6AL

With a happy tummy, I went to sleep happy. Till the next post 😉

Written by xiu Posted in Travelogues Tagged with europe, london, travel, united kingdom