Displaced Beachbums

It’s our one month “Living in London” anniversary! I spent the day roaming around the city. Started with a London Walks (London’s Hidden Village) which ambled around the Southbank/Bermondsey area. Interesting to get off the beaten tourist path and into another neighborhood.

Industrial Age housing for workers

Our London Walks guide, Ann

The building in the photo below is so odd.  If you stand right in front of it, the wall is flat but it’s been painted so when you look at it from across the street, it looks like it’s the corner of the building. Honestly, it’s a FLAT wall!

Corner wall or is it…

After the walk, I had lunch at The Anchor restaurant which has a nice riverside patio along the Thames.  The restaurant was originally built in 1770 but I don’t believe there’s much left of the original building.  After lunch, my friend Rhonda and I ambled through the famous Borough Market.  The market has roots back to 1276 (first mentioned) but the current building has been there since 1851.  The retail market is open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and, even though it’s packed with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, sweets and more, the only thing I bought were savory pies from Pieministers.  John’s pie had beef & beer and Logan’s pie was vegetarian with goat cheese.  Rave reviews from both of them so we’ll definitely have them again.

Here’s Rhonda checking out a bread stand:

The Tower Bridge is always a joy to see especially on a beautiful sunny day like today.

Although I was exhausted from my day out in London, I couldn’t resist an event happening in Chelsea called “Vino and Vinyasa” (Yoga and Wine tasting).  I almost got waylaid by all the stores I passed along King’s Road as I headed to the event, but I made it and really enjoyed the evening.  Since I’m yoga challenged, it might have been better to have the wine before yoga!

As I expected, our time here in London is going quickly and I plan to continue having exhausting days as I explore/savor all London has to offer.