After we visited every tourist location in Paris, Marcus and I hopped on the Eurostar for a short, comfortable train ride to London. $58 bucks and two hours later we were among the commoners, dashing in and out of trains in downtown London. If Paris is an old school European city, then London is a modern day metropolis.
We spent most of the time visiting with our lovely friends, Lesley, Rob, and Caroline, but we did enjoy a pint, some fish and chips, and then hop on a double decker bus for a comfortable view of the biggies: the London Eye, Big Ben, House of Parliment, and London Bridge. We got off at Notting Hill and walked through Portabello Market, which, if you are traveling to London any time soon, is not to be missed.
By far, my favorite destination in London was Borough Market. It was enourmous. So big it makes Eastern or Dupont Market look like a corner store. Lesely's tour of the market started with croissants and coffee at Mammoth Coffee, a tasting of the market's best vendors (mushroom paté, pepper jelly, pesto bites), and a few purchases at Neal's Yard Dairy, a cheese store that sells artisan cheese from England's countryside. If you were to make a movie that calls for a cheese store scene, this is where you should shoot it.
We purchased some locally caught sea bass, and for the first time cooked a whole fish (see before and after photos below). We de-boned the fish watching this google instruction video. It was quite a sight.
Eating in Paris and London means that I can check off number 7 on my culinary resolutions!
