After Sachi and I left the Globe Theater, we headed a bit south, knowing there was something called the “Borough Market” that we wanted to check out. And while it was not what we expected, it was better: a food-laden, farmer’s market-slash-tasty goodies bazaar. Though full of people, it was an excellent experience, maybe one of the highlights of our trip so far.

One of the first places we found sold mulled wine, something we later discovered was not so uncommon here. The charming lady selling the wine was pleased to hear that we were on our honeymoon, and offered us a free refill (usually 2.5 Pounds).

But there were lots of produce sellers…

And tons of food stands, of all sorts.

Sachi and I had lots of small stuff, and did not neglect the chorizo. I love chorizo, and they had lots of it here–the real stuff, not the weird stuff they sell in Japan and call “chorizo,” but the actual chorizo, red and spicy and delicious.

We got some of that, of course. But I passed on the pimenton (the spice used to give chorizo its taste, a lovely smoked pepper, “bacon in a tin” taste), knowing that I’d get the best chances in Spain next week.

But nearby, they had a chorizo sandwich stall, and they were fantastic.

Loaded with “rocket,” a popular vegetable condiment here. Found out that it’s called “arugula” in America–yep, the same veggie that got Obama tagged as an elitist by right-wingers during the campaign. Don’t know what the hell they were talking about, it’s quite pedestrian–but then, I’m pretty sure those wingnuts had no idea what arugula was, either.

Another thing we noticed at the market was the sweets. I loved their golden-colored yet distinctly licorice gelato:

And some of it was cute, like the owl cookies:

But most was simply decadant:

And these “triple chocolate brownies” you see everywhere. My opinion: “triple chocolate” should have one of the three chocolates be in hard chip form; these were just plain brownies.

These fatty foods were all over the place, in large quantities. Along with sausages, pizza, fish & chips, potatoes and more potatoes, meat pies and lots more wrapped in heavy-doughed breading, and in the shops there is tons of junk food–and let’s not forget the beer.

So the question is, how the bloody hell are the British not as fat as Americans? Seriously, you don’t see nearly as many overweight people.

Anyway, we ended the market experience with a nice lamb burger with cream cheese and more arugula, eaten in a cathedral courtyard (seriously, cathedrals are all over the place here). Then we walked on to London Bridge (with the prerequisite childhood-song-singing), which, disappointingly, is not the one with the towers. Actually, London Bridge seemed pretty pedestrian to me, kind of an anti-climax.

The we made it around to The Tower, the central London castle fortress built almost a thousand years ago by William the Conquerer (played by Michael Gambon). Sachi and I wanted to go inside until we saw the lines. That’s one thing they don’t do well in London. Fish and chips, well, incredible. Beer, excellent. Manners, first-rate. Queues, not so good. Now, Japan knows queues. Zip-zip, and you’re through. But here, it’s like people manning the lines are constantly confused and distracted. Polite, but distracted.

Really, for me, the highlight would have been the funny hats, anyway, and we could see them from the outside.

So we made it on to the Tower Bridge (which, for some reason, I had always thought was the thing that had the crown jewels and the prison, which confused me as it’s awfully small and let’s face it not the most logical place for that kind of stuff–I must have confused “Tower” and “Tower Bridge”). Along the way, we saw about several guys selling candy-coated nuts (which, for some reason, we only saw sold on bridges. And why are they always from some area between the middle east and central Asia?).

What is there to say about the Tower Bridge? Complimentary photos:

After that, we were beat, and wanted to get back to the hotel. So we walked to the closest underground station, to find it closed. Yep, London, city of the partially-operating subways. Maybe it’s that the underground is really old and is falling apart, or maybe that they’re renovating seriously for the 2012 Olympics. Or maybe they just don’t do quick repairs. The Circle Line has been out our whole stay here along with one or two other lines, and half the other lines are partially closed.

So we tried to catch a bus. Ha! Way too crowded with people who couldn’t take the subway. So we caught a cab, it wasn’t too far.