London - Day 6

Today I'm recapping Day 6 of our London trip.  Only one more day after today!  If you missed the earlier days, you can find them here ~

Day 1 and 2          Day 3          Day 4          Day 5

We had a leisurely morning to start Day 6 of our London trip.  The Borough Market was our first activity of the day and we decided to walk there.  On our way, we noticed King Charles was home!  How did we know?  The British flag flies on top of Buckingham Palace when the King is away.  The Royal flag flies when he’s in residence. 

 

We decided to walk to Borough Market, hoping to see some interesting sights along the way, but looking back, taking the train might have been a better choice. After covering the three miles on foot, we arrived at one of the most impressive food markets I've ever encountered! It's easy to see why it's hailed as London’s top food market.

 

One food booth after another drew us deeper into the maze of vendors.  If you visit, go hungry!  There were so many things I wanted to try!  We settled on sausage rolls, chocolate-covered strawberries, and mushroom risotto.  

We also nibbled on cheese, bread, and tea samples.  I bought some tea to bring home from a shop that The King had visited and cheese to take back to our apartment to snack on.  If I lived in London, I would frequent this location often!

 

From the market, we went to the King’s Cross train station to get a picture of Platform 9-3/4.  They had a Platform 9-3/4 at the Harry Potter Warner Bros. Studio, but the one at the train station was a bit more fancy.  They have each house’s scarves available to wear in the picture and even a Warner Bros. employee standing just outside the camera’s view to toss the scarf in the air as you snapped the photo.  Of course, there was also a gift shop!

The British Library is very close to the King’s Cross station and we went there next.  Inside you can see the Magna Carta and a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, along with tons of other historical items.  The library is free to get in and worth the stop.

After the library, Eric and I split off from Ian.  I really wanted to go to the Notting Hill Bookshop.  It was a short train ride away.  I totally geeked out over the bookstore made famous from the Julia Roberts / Hugh Grant movie Notting Hill.  

The store was absolutely charming! It had an amazing selection of books and delightful items. If you're feeling adventurous, they offer "blind date" books—you can pick one wrapped in paper and discover the surprise book inside when you get home.

We even saw the blue door William Thacker (Hugh Grant’s character) lived behind!

 

Notting Hill also has a small market.  We browsed around for a while then headed back to the apartment.  Another fun day in London in the books!