32 Boroughs

Okay, so we didn’t see all of them, but we made a good dent. This girl is looking forward to a six hour plane ride tomorrow! We walked about 32 miles on our 4 day jaunt, and enjoyed every minute of it.

We began at Ottolenghi again. We stayed tried and true this morning with leek and feta danish for me and yogurt with passion fruit, poached berries and granola for Kirsten. It is such a joyous way to begin the day.

It was the Marleybone Farmers Market today. I think I took 26 pictures of the most gorgeous food stalls – every bit as luscious as Italy, and I don’t say that lightly.

This cinches it. I could live here. Food, history, culture, a diverse population, and that lovely accent.

We were excited to see Paul and Abi’s place, so we headed to Canary Wharf. Like a different city altogether! New, hip, green and FULL of shops and restaurants. Underground shopping malls and lovely parks and canals above.

Their apartment is adorable, a studio with a loft in an older revitalized building that now has a pool and sauna in the complex. It sits right on the Thames at the sight of the launch of Isambard Kingdom Brunnel’s Great Eastern Ship (I can’t help it, he’s my favorite).

We went for Sunday Roast at Blacklock – divine!

We toured the neighborhood and headed for a boat ride.

We stopped at Battersea, walked across the bridge into Chelsea, up into Knightsbridge, Belgravia and ended in Kensington for a Tube ride home. We poked into shops, found an old apartment we’d stayed in years ago and enjoyed the quiet residential streets.

We decided to head home early and we split off with Paul at the Tube station. We took one last trot down the Marleybone High Street.

We’re retiring early as we have a morning flight tomorrow. We packed a lot into this trip, and it was a perfect 4 days. The carry on bag served us well – we were well dressed enough for any occasion, comfortable enough to walk 8 miles a day, and warm enough to be outside. We toured and visited and explored and enjoyed.

Why don’t we do this more often? Kim, you’re right – just go! Fancy dinners and theatre shows are great, but just tooling around is fun too.

Oh, and can someone please tell me why there are so many tropical plants in London?