On the rail from London Bridge to Gatwick airport

Day 2 in London was great! Although we set the alarm for 9am, we didn't get up until 10:30, but whatever, we're on vacation! Our hotel gave us complimentary light breakfasts from Pret, but our first stop was still a leisurely lunch at the Rivington Bar and Grill nearby, recommended for their fish and chips. The chips were very good (you are spot on, Joan!), but the fish was just average IMO. My smoked haddock was quite salty, though tender. We did enjoy the colcannon (Irish side dish of mashed potato, leeks, onions).

After lunch, we made our way to London Tower. The tour guide was great in a punnily entertaining way. We saw traitor's gate, the bloody tower, the torture room (not impressive given the long line), crown jewels (so shiny!), and wall carvings of prisoners.

From London Tower, we went to the London Eye again. This time, we actually "took flight" and did a 30min rotation. It was a nice ride, great views obviously (see pics from yesterday), but I'm not sure it was worth the £17 per person. Unlike the 1-day subway/bus passes which were absolutely a good value.

For dinner, we were able to meet up with Samantha and her friend Nicole who are in London on internships. It's always fun to meet up with friends and people you know in foreign countries! We went to a street called "The Cut" in Southwark, and had a great mediterranean meal at a Turkish restaurant called Tas. Excellent hummus, couscous and lamb shish.

From there, we took the tube back to Hoxton, changed quickly, and walked to Hoxton Square. It's quite surprising that most bars and pubs here close between midnight or 1am! We managed to find a place that was open until 2am -i it seemed like a late night spot cuz it was empty when we got there at 11 and half full by the time we left around 12:30. We were semi-accosted by some friendly British drunks who slapped us five with sticky beer hands. They ended each outburst with "hello?", much like Canadians say,"eh?". They peer pressured Eugene into joining them in a round of sambuca shots.

Post-outing, we skyped with my parents where we got to see Max, before crashing. It was a fun day, though somewhat tempered by the intervals of rain, but I guess we'll chalk it up to part of the London experience.

This morning, we took a very short jaunt through the Tate Modern, where we saw a few Picassos, Monet, Kandinsky, and a bizarrly unsettling exhibit.

We then walked along the Thames back to London Bridge to catch rail to Gatwick. Our flight was a bit delayed, but we are now in Marseille!

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