48 Hours in London: Day 2 & Video Diary

On our last day of holiday, I was sort of sad that it was over but also kind of happy to go home to see GM. I think that's the best part of having a dog: you know you're going to get the biggest, happiest welcome home ever, even if all you've done is gone out to check the mailbox.

Wanting to wind down and prepare for the flight home, we kept our last day really low-key. We didn't have many major plans, especially because the handful of ideas I'd had for our last day we had already done the day before.

COLUMBIA ROAD FLOWER MARKET
I hadn't realized that Borough Market was closed on Sundays so we looked for a different market to peruse and ended up biking from our hotel all the way up to Columbia Road. It was the longest bike ride yet, but it was all right because the roads were so quiet. I mean, who's awake at 8:00 on Sunday mornings?

The market was so gorgeous and fun to browse. If I lived in London, I would certainly come here on Sundays to pick up some plants to liven up my flat. Yes, I said, "flat," because if I lived in London, that's what I would call my apartment.

BRICK LANE FRUIT MARKET

While we were biking back to our hotel, we stumbled upon another market with lots of fruit stalls and conveniently enough, there was a bike dock, so we stopped and picked up some strawberries and peaches to have for breakfast. The peaches ended up being so sweet that they tasted like candy, in the best way possible.

Once we got back to our room, we tucked into some of the leftovers from Duck + Rice (from the previous evening's dinner) and the fresh fruit. We ate in bed whilst watching a movie like a pair of slobs and it was sublime.

GOLDEN SQUARE
After breakfast, we lazed around in our hotel room and then finished up packing. We checked out around noon and then went in search of lunch. And when I say, "in search of," I just mean that we headed to where I'd made reservations. We ended up being a bit early - it was just a short tube ride - so we killed time at the nearby park where I found yet another dream jar!

This time, it was Helen's dream. I would've loved to find one with my name. Alas, I never will because this installation was only around through 31 August.

BOB BOB RICARD

For lunch, we headed to Bob Bob Ricard. I had let them know we'd have luggage with us so when we arrived dragging bags behind us, they greeted us by name and promptly took our bags to the cloakroom. Upon walking in, M said she much preferred the decor here to Sketch, even though it was equally gaudy, just in a different way.

After we quickly perused the menu, we started with some drinks: M went for the cranberry & mint lemonade and I went for the apple & ginger. Both were lovely and crisp. I suppose we could have pressed for champagne, but honestly, we were about to board a flight in just a couple of hours and didn't want to risk feeling gross on the plane. Plus, neither of us cares for champagne v. much, unless it's mixed with peach puree.

Since we wanted something quintessentially English, we both ordered the Sunday roast for lunch and were so pleased when it arrived because it looked so huge and delicious.

Unfortunately, the meat was a little tough (but whenever we do roasts at home, we go for prime cuts so we're spoiled) but the truffle gravy was delicious, as was the horseradish cream. Plus, the Yorkshire puddings were delightful and the potato was so good! It was mash but it was rolled up into a ball and broiled or toasted or something, which gave it a delicious crust. We don't recommend the caesar salad - the dressing just tasted like mashed up anchovy. Overall, it was a nice way to end the holiday, especially since the restaurant was so cozy and the staff were so accommodating.

After lunch, I didn't have much time for my camera. We got to the airport via the Gatwick Express, made our way through security, and then bought a bunch of candy at the duty free shops because we wanted candy and because we wanted to use up our foreign currency. Then, we grabbed some donburi bowls from Wagamama and water bottles. While we were waiting for the food to be ready, M said she had to use the loo so I said we should meet at the gate. During that time, our gate was announced and then as I was making my way over, it said that the gate was closing at 16:20 (for a 17:10 flight). I didn't think much of it until I saw another monitor which said it was 16:16. I freaked out and started rushing with a million bags in my arms and probably waddled half a mile through the airport in three minutes.

When I made it to the gate out of breath at 16:19, there were tons of people sitting in the waiting area and the staff were casually going about their business. Apparently, they announced the gate closing early to discourage lateness. I watched several nervous runners show up at the gate to be told the same story about discouraging lateness. Honestly, I get why they did it but it was kind of horrible and caused a lot of unnecessary panic. I mean, we should have known that they wouldn't close a gate almost an hour prior to takeoff but hey, this is not a scenario in which you want to take chances on an assumption.

That was our trip. It was an amazing time and now I can't wait to finish up planning my Iceland trip! I live for vacations; what can I say?

Here's my video diary:

xoxo.