Market Places and Familiar Faces

This past Saturday was dedicated to being entirely a tourist. It began with a trip to Borough Market with my friend Cece and our new friend Rob, who is a Londoner and loves to show my friends and me around the city. I'll be honest, at first I was really not feeling venturing out early Saturday morning. Having been out and about late the night before, I was looking forward to a lazy morning in. Needless to say, I'm so glad I didn't miss out on this adventure!

Borough Market was a sight to behold! Located amongst old tunnels, this half open-air, half glass-ceiling enclosed market is magnificent. Never in my life have I seen so many cool and interesting vendors in one place. Although I could've spent the entire day (or days, for that matter) exploring each and every vendor set up in the place, we decided to grab a bite for lunch at a traditional English pie vender set up at the market, grab a coffee, and do some light exploring around the market. Since we went on a Saturday the place was a bit crowded. It's open Thursdays-Sundays, so I think it'd be much easier to move about and explore on a Thursday or Friday morning.

The beautiful glass atrium that was half of the massive market.

Fresh produce was not in short supply.

And for that matter, neither was fresh poultry.

A market that lets you purchase a glass of morning prosecco while you browse? Yes, please.

While wondering I looked up and saw this beautiful Gothic church high above the market.

One of the neat tunnels surrounding the market.

I had the venison pie for lunch. Deer meat covered in herbs, surrounded by a pastry-like pie crust, and topped with British gravy. It was delicious! 

After exploring the market and making a quick stop by High Street Kensington to make a TK Maxx run (yes, you read that right - the Brits replace the J for a K), Cece and I were walking back to our flat from the Tube when we ran into 2 familiar faces, our friends Tom and Julia. They were heading off to watch the sunset at the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Honestly exhausted from the day, I really just wanted to head back to the flat to rest. However, once again, after much convincing I decided it was a rare sunny day in London and what a beautiful way to watch the sun set than overlooking this beautiful city on an equally stunning piece of architecture? In all honesty, I'm a sucker for a good sunset.

Unfortunately my phone had died much earlier in the day so I wasn't able to get any pictures from the Tower Bridge, but the experience was surreal. Not having my phone almost made it easier for me to focus on being present in the moment and soak in the amazing scenery and people around me. After all, isn't that part of the experience of living in an entirely new place? 

Moral of the story this weekend? Never let an opportunity pass you by, no matter how big or small. While it may not seem significant at the time, saying yes to an opportunity to explore, enjoy, and live in a moment is the most enriching experience and it's moments like these that make a lifetime.