July 8: London Tower

Our first stop was London Tower & Superbloom, which were extremely crowded. Instead of buying an entry ticket for 30 pounds for LT and 12 pounds for Superbloom, we bought a London Pass for 71 pounds each.  We found out the London Pass covered the entry for London Tower but not the Superbloom.

When we noticed the large crowd at LT, we pivoted to the Uber boat transfer (covered by the London Pass) and drove up and down the river.  It was a pleasant ride at the back of the boat as we got some excellent shots of Big Ben and the London Eye.

Once we got back to London Tower, we headed over to London Bridge and did the tour of the inside of this magnificent structure.  This tour was also covered by the London Pass and would have cost 12 pounds. We got to read about the construction of the bridge, walk across a glass floor looking down on the road, take pics and see the engine room in action.

Next, it was time for lunch and we headed to the funky Borough Market.  It was a feast for the senses as we saw, smelled, heard and, most importantly, tasted the fresh cuisine.  We started with 6 oysters for 12 pounds and then a delicious tuna bowl.  The oysters were huge and inexpensive but lacked the salty brine from back home.  The tuna bowl was outstanding— fresh with amazing aroma and quite tongue pleasing.  We also tried the mussels and chips from a different spot for 12 pounds— a little disappointed with the quantity and taste of the mussels. My final stop was to grab a couple of donuts — one raspberry and one strawberry shortcake.

From here, we walked back along the river bank and watched the first set of the Wimbledon semi final between Jokavich and Norrie. I had a beer as we baked in the sun with a crowd of Brits cheering on the local boy. 

Exhausted and hot, we retreated to the shade and tried to recharge.  Our next stop was Trafalgar Square and Chinatown. Trafalgar Square was impressive and packed with tourists although I was too tired and bloated to take pics. We quickly walked through Chinatown and watched people eat before visiting a couple of markets. I saw a couple of funny restaurant signs — Kowloon and Lido.