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London London

JustTravel

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We have arrived. Outside our window -


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I remember that being built, as I'd walk past the building site on the way between Liverpool St and London Bridge stations twice a week, most weeks.

If you like chocolates, then it won't be too far to go to Verde & Co at 40 Brushfields St (turn right from Bishopsgate just after Liverpool St Station). They have chocolates from the Belgian chocolate maker Marcolini and it's also a cosy place to grab a tea or coffee, but gets very busy at lunchtimes, mainly for their soup.

Planning a trip to Borough Market? If so, one of the veggie stalls at the far end (nr. Monmouth Coffee shop) usually has the wonderful Italian fruit 'Nespole' (aka Loquats) in. I just had some for breakfast (brought back from Italy) and they are such a wonderfully juicy fruit. Surprisingly the large place with the good mushroom selection never seems to have them.
 
Ian, we went to Borough Market yesterday after 4:30 pm; most of the vendors were closed or closing. But we were able to buy a piece of aged ribeye steak for dinner; some vegetables and fruit. Today, we will go back to do more shopping.

We will wait on the Belgian chocolate as we will be in Bruges in less than two weeks and we have a favorite chocolatier there.
 
Was your aged ribeye from The Ginger Pig? I've had some superb stuff from them - they're one of the only places I've found in the UK who cut and sell Onglet, my favourite French cut of steak.

We'll wave to you as we pass by this afternoon - Philippa and I have a rather hectic 24hrs in London coming up right now, fitting in a second viewing of the apartment on the Isle of Dogs that we're planning to move to in June (eek! lots to get sorted before then), and attending P's sister's wedding tomorrow afternoon.

But, next time you come to London, we should be settled there - and only a few stops from Southwark along the Jubilee line - so we hope to add a London GTG to our already established Venice and West Portal locales :dork:
 
Hi Jonathan
Worth trying Turner & George, who do next day delivery out to the rest of the country as well. Not cheap, but proper butchery (I'm so sorry Pauline:(:oops:) including the stronger flavoured cuts closer to the stomach that us brits usually shy away from.

Hi JT
Tuesday is a pretty quiet day still for Borough Market, but the number of people slowly ramps up until a quite busy Friday and utterly crammed Saturday. If going on Saturday, go early. No market on Sundays I believe, but if you fancy a mixed market (food, crafts, clothes etc) then Spitalfield market about a 10-15 min walk from Liverpool St Station is worth a try as you're local.

Other recommendations:
- Mini Magoo granola - the plain is fantastic but there are variants available
- Monmouth Coffee (not a market stall, but a building on the far side from London Bridge station). Not great for having a coffee in as it's always cramped, but the coffee is very good. If buying beans or grounds, then go straight to that counter rather than the queue, and when ordering they'll ask you if you want a coffee as well, which allows you to skip the queue!
- Brindisa may be a little pricey, but it is a good place for Spanish food. Top tip is the (wheat?) beer in a beige bottle with rosemary in it - very tasty.
- In the part of the market nearer London Bridge / where the takeaway hot food stalls are, there is an emilia-romagnan stall that does very good parmesan, but the top tip is the salami covered in beeswax. It can vary from time to time, but is always exceptionally tasty.
- Great choice on breads, and I've not settled on a favourite stall. Pricey but it's real bread. If you like English muffins, there is a stall in the front section that does big ones - ideal for killing any midday hunger pangs
- Wild mushrooms in the far part of the market, but just as you come in to it on your right. Not cheap, but generally very good, they also sell truffles. In addition this large stall has a huge range of fruit & veg including Amalfi Lemons / Citron, courgette / zucchini flowers, truffles in season etc. Easy to spend 'a lot' on 'not a lot' here, but I'm a repeat customer.
- Go to the Italian specialists on the market for genuine pasta, rather than the pasta specialist which has bigger / stodgier fillings (unless that's what you seek of course!). Personally I try to get across town to I Camisa on Old Compton St (nr. Piccadilly circus) which is a good old fashioned Italian alimentari that has been there for decades. They are happy to let you order in Italian as well should you wish. The pastas are all very genuine and the sauces (not displayed) are excellent. We've had the tomato & basil (loaded to the gills with Basil) and the ragu (properly slow-cooked).
- Olive oil stall, which specialised in Italian oils but does have other oils as well now. This is my source of 1st press / new season oil ~ at the start of October
- A couple of good olive stalls
- Loads of other stuff to find your own specials

regards
Ian
 
London is very busy, very hard to take photos. Wall to wall people this morning at Borough Market. But we did get some shopping done - chicken thighs for dinner, more vegetables and fruit. Also bought a loaf of real multigrain bread from Bread Ahead, Ian.

Then some cheese
from Neil's Yard - Coolea, Lincolnshire Poacher, Dorstone goat cheese, and Baron Bigod plus a block of Berkeley butter and a hot cross bun. We passed by Monmouth coffee and the line was long.

We took
our stuff home and then went out again for a walk along the Thames. We went through Borough Market and the crowd had doubled.

Here are the few photos I took.


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Jonathan, we didn't get the ribeye from the Ginger Pig but we stopped in there to check it out. We will try them next time. We are booked to return here October 16 for a week, so we hope to see you then.

Ian, thanks for all your recommendations. Some of them I am familiar with, others not. We looked for Mini Magoo this morning but they were not there; just googled it and they don't come on Wednesdays. I saw the Nespole but didn't get any today - pricey at £9/kilo.
 
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Hi JT
It turns out there is an event I'll be going to in London next Wednesday, so I'll definitely be raiding the Nespole (thanks for the confirmation they've got them). I get maybe an hour to shop before heading to the lunch. I must admit I don't look at the price of them, as the season is short and they are probably my favourite fruit (though good alpine strawbs run them close), so not buying or buying less than I can get through really isn't going to happen!
Much cheaper I'm sure in Italy (but again the price won't stop me buying what I want).

When you're back in October, the mushroom selection will be very good, and the truffles will be out as well. Often quite a lot more than Italy, such that I can't really justify the cost of white truffles sold in the UK, but a couple of black truffles don't break the bank.

regards
Ian
 
How could I forget Neal's Yard cheese shop - who I believe carry a fine local Brie style cheese made next door to some friends in Bungay, called Baron Bigod. It's made with the milk (full fat & unpasteurised) from the farm's own cows. The milk itself is wonderful as well.

There are some other very good cheese shops in London, but that is reliable and good.
 
Hi JT
Isn't it just! The folks at the dairy are very considerate neighbours, and as they recognised the (small) building work would be an inconvenience for our friends, asked them if there was any work they needed doing at the same time & it would be free (as way of compensation). They run a good business and the cows seem pretty happy.

Thanks for the Nespole update - I've had the Spanish ones before and they're often good (I'll always choose Italian if I can though). It's the north African ones that don't seem to be as tasty.

regards
Ian
 
Woke up to a very cloudy day with a cold breeze. We got to Borough Market by ten and there was not much of a crowd yet. We got our shopping done - plaice and skate from Sussex Fish, muesli from Mini Magoo, a small leg of spring lamb from the Ginger Pig for Easter dinner, more fruit and vegetable from a couple of vendors.

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Yes, they are. I bought an iPhone 7+ a couple of weeks before leaving and I am using it as the camera. It takes pretty good pictures that the old point and shoot camera has been idle. I still don't like typing on the iPhone, so I upload the pictures from it and then edit and type on the MacBook Air. Tedious but it works. I know that I can use the iCloud but I am not there yet.
 
Friday morning, we woke up feeling all our aches and pain. So we had a very slow start. We managed to share a venison burger at the Borough market (that late!)

We then crossed London Bridge and walked along the northbank. We still felt achy, so returned home by crossing the Millennium Bridge but not before taking this picture of St Paul's.




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Friday morning, we woke up feeling all our aches and pain.
Yes the concrete can play havoc on feet in the cities. There are some good parks in London, but you sometimes need to make a conscious effort to leave the paths and walk on the grass.
 

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