Monday started a bit slow... we were tired from partying and I had two huge blisters on the bottom of my feet that I popped open. So we were a bit behind schedule when we got to Victoria station, Grabbed a toasty and a Nutella croissant and headed for our tour bus. Now this was a hard thing to stomach coming up - the bus was working around traffic, which was incredibly slow and painful and to top it off, our tour bus driver was on his second day of the job - he wasn't prepared to ad lib and kept telling us things 10 minutes ahead of us while we waited to catch up. 
Finally, after disappointment and traffic, we got off and headed by foot to Borough Market - which is what we'd been trying to get to for the past day and a half but kept having a bad run. It was food vendor and artisans all over - so fun. We grabbed a meat pie right away - a moondog with mash and gravy. Great starter. From there we took in the produce and sights and I did a hard force on a stall of mussels in a crème sauce. While I held down a spot, Matt went to a baker and bought a crusted bread. We also stopped for Matt to grab a pretzel and I grabbed a German cheesecake, which is dense and delicious. The other amazing part was taking in the samples - I liked the paella but Matt and I both liked the French cheese booth. We actually bought some peppered cheese to bring home and some cheese jelly - apricot. Matt was giddy though when she gave him a sample of the 6 month old moldy bleu cheese that was growing and fuzzy. I think she could have stolen him away from me... if she promised him cheese and cheese jelly. 
Pinkertons joined us and we kept the sampling and sharing going...We shared an Ethiopian combination plate - chicken, beef, mashed lentil beans, and stewed cabbage. The guys got distracted by Scotch eggs and pigs on sticks and us girls found a French stand selling macaroons and meringues. Before we left we had the award winning fish and chips - they had received the highest award in competition so we couldn't resist. They were good - battered and crispy and light. I will admit, I can do with out malt vinegar and I like the thin McDonald American fries but I like good fish.
We left there, walked the Tower Bridge and headed to St. Katherine's Dock - which is a quiet closed booth market with shops. It was okay - we stopped at a Spanish place, We had an amazing strawberry lime cider and an assortment of pickles. The service was snooty and it didn't make for us to want to stay long. We split up as Matt wanted to take a Thames tour. It had gotten a bit hot/humid so we stopped for ice cream before hoping aboard. 
The tour guide on the water was great - a real showman, cheeky and quick. He gave some historical information as well as some modern fun added in. We headed to the hotel and met up with Pinkertons for dinner at a Thai place just down the road from the hotel. Matt had the green curry and I had the seafood fried rice. From there we started on our pub crawl that we'd left off the night before. My favorite pub may have been the Queen's Arms - big tables, farm house feel but best of all - they had an elderflower cider cask that was wonderful. I'm ready for that to hop the pond. We finished out the night at the Warwick - cute and had the seasonal flora and fauna displayed, which I wish would be picked up too.
ALR: you know I could live here.
MJR: You know, if we lived here, we wouldn't drink in pubs with Pinkertons every night.
ALR: spoil sport.
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