Final Day in London 9/3/2018 Hetchless

London: 3 September 2018

Short break between eating !! Trying to get as much packing done as possible so we can get to sleep earlier than in previous days here. We leave from Heathrow quite early in the a.m.

OK.. not such a complicated day.

Started out by walking from the hotel (past the wonderful Leadenhall arcade) to Borough Market – the oldest market in London; functioning as a market for over 1,000 years – albeit in different forms.  We strolled the stalls, picked up a nice goat cheese, some fruit, and juices and sat at one of the share tables and enjoyed breakfast. I picked up a great iced chai tea latte made with coconut milk, and all was good. 

We strolled back to the hotel and after doing a bit of work we walked to the building referred to as the “walkie talkie” – a new building that has a “skygarden”. We had reservations for a late lunch at the top of the building. 20 Fenchurch Road (address and real name of the building) is located in the “city of London” about a 10-minute walk from the hotel (in the financial district). It’s nicknamed ‘The Walkie-Talkie’ because of its shape. The three-floor ‘sky garden’ was opened in early 2015, about a year or so after the actual building was occupied. The shape gets wider as it gets higher. While some people like the building, it was named the worst new building of the year when it was opened. 

But as an amenity, the building has a public garden and great views of the city on the 34^th floor. Lunch on the 37^th floor was actually quite wonderful.  Started with some kind of cod foam and tomato amuse bouche, followed by a beetroot and plum salad. Then  my main course was the hake which was poached(?) sitting above a delightful set of the most thinly sliced tomatoes you could imagine. Then poached pear with tiny scoops of cardamom and also chocolate gelato.

Strolled back to the hotel documenting photographically the odd juxtapositions of the old and the new – which seems to be more visible and apparent in old cities like London than in American cities. Packed for a while and then dashed out to meet Emma and Hem for dinner (hadn’t connected since Geneva) at a little Peruvian place in Shoredich about a half-mile from our hotel. After pisco sours and ceviches and assorted other yummies, we bid them adieu and walked to our hotel to pack. 

We are now at the lounge at Heathrow and I’m signing off from this trip. We board shortly and Terminal 2 is so big that it can take forever to reach your gate. I’m a bit exhausted; went to bed around 1 a.m. and wake up call was at 5:15. Short trip, sweet visits, action-packed, and glad to head home — most especially to get my “H” back.  See you all stateside.

Best –  Fern