5. Eggs, Bridges, The Circus and The Queen!

This morning I was awoken by noise from the other people also staying here through AirBNB. They are not quiet. They are in fact the opposite of quiet. I can be a loud person, that it know, but I try not to be whether are people in the next room trying to sleep. Anyhow, I'm sure they're lovely people. Well, I'm not sure, and my early morning self would disagree with my late night self, but, I'll just chalk it up to, "This is why AirBNB is cheaper than a hotel."

After they finally left, I slept a bit more. Joy. Then I got up, got all prepped for the day with a banana and clementine in hand, and started walking. I walked a lot. And then some more, and I finally ended up at the halfway point to my ultimate goal, the Tower Bridge. It's that bridge that I personally believe has been in Disney love story movie because it's so beautiful! 

Before I got there, I went to Borough Market again. It wasn't by plan, but because the Thames walkway is cut off my some town, and you essentially walk through Borough Market to get to the other side and back on track for the bridge. On my way to the bridge, via the market, I was walking along the water and saw these guys.

They were making sand sculptures on the "beach", and those bowls you see in the first picture, lined up against the wall in circles, are all labelled inside for you to throw change into. The middle one, for £1, has a metal bowl in it, so it makes a sound when it hits, and they turn around, look up and say thank you. I did it, and it was super fun!

Then I kept walking, and saw this cool dining thing.

They were these adorable little posh dinning tables, set up in cubes, along the water. So. Much. Fun!

I finally got to Borough Market, and noticed that it was MUCH more lively than it had been the day before. I later learned from a friend that I met for dinner tonight, that they rev up as the week goes along, and Friday is their big day, all vendors, all types of food, and a ton of people.

Anyhow, today was awesome, and I managed to cross another have-to-do off of my list. Have you guys heard of Scotch Eggs? I know some of you have, because I make them every year at Christmas with pops and Edgar. They're essentially an egg, wrapped in sausage, rolled in mixed egg, then rolled in breadcrumbs. It's a whole meal in one wonderful ball! Anyhow, we have bastardized the original I'm sure, so I was lucky to come across the real thing today in the Market.

The differences between what we do and what was done here seems to be that they deepfry and we bake, and they somehow get the yolks to stay slightly runny, while ours are fully cooked. It was really good, and those sweet potato fries... best I've ever had! Like, I may have to hunt them down again.

Finally, I walked some more, worked off that Scotch egg I'm sure, and got to the bridge. Look at this thing. Does it not belong in every Disney movie where a prince sweeps a princes off of their feet?

So beautiful. 

Once I got my fill, I headed over to Picadilly Circus to meet a friend for dinner. She and I lived together when I was in Bermuda, and had a bunch to catch up on. As I walked to the Tube station, I came across something very lovely and touching. I can't even imagine how long this took. Each one, one by one, the petal post place first, and then the flower top (not real, I don't imagine).

From there, after watching people be just so lovely, I hopped on the Tube! This is what London subways look like. This is a newer one, because the other one I was on that connected, I hit my head along both sides. Not made for the tall folk!

Then it was Picadilly Circus time! I don't know what I expected, perhaps some type of event going on, but what I saw was an absolute ton-of-people. What I learned is that it's essentially Toronto's Yonge and Dundas Square, or New York's Time Square. Super fun, very loud, veeeery trafficy, but there were some quiet places to sit and relax. I got some watermelon from Whole Foods, and sat on this fun patio. Look at the fun stuff in Picadilly Circus, as well as a fun bag that I bought!

Once I met my friend, we did some walking around, found Chinatown, Soho and then ended up eating at a delicious place called Busaba Eathai. I had delicious salmon with coconut rice and sesame salad, and we shared fish cakes and spring rolls. Yum! No pictures of that, because it was too delicious to stop and take a picture of, but here is a fun shot of Chinatown and a walkabout picture.

Once the lovely lady and I said our goodbyes, I met up another friend, and we walked over to Buckingham Palace. Not only was it beautiful, but it was also lit up all fancy like. He told me that if the flag is flying at the top of the palace, it means that the Queen is home! The Queen you guys! Was home! Like, in there, being the Queen and stuff! Whoa!

I'll have to go back during the day before I leave, but here are a couple of pictures from tonight.

And finally, we capped of the night with a walk back from the Palace (that's so much fun to say!), and went to get some FroYo. I got strawberry with banana, gummy bears and Oreos on tops. Then I was dared to jump up on a stoop-like thing on the side of a wall to sit on and eat our yummy treat. Guess what? I won free froooooooyo! And I got down from the stoop like a damn angel! 

Anyhow, these were the lights on the ceiling of the FroYo place. I require these in my life, daily!

To bed with me, and back at it tomorrow, headed to some design shops, a new part of town and meeting a childhood friend for dinner. Can't wait!