London: The City

Today's breakfast featured pineapple instead of mushrooms. We met a couple in the dining room who said they'd been traveling with Rick Steves guides for twenty-five years--we're only on our second trip!

The first stop this morning was Shakespeare's Globe. It's not exactly "Shakespeare's," having been constructed in 1997, but it's a pretty close replica of the original, including the thatched roof. We went on the guided tour, and then returned to view the exhibition, which was quite interesting.



We walked back over the Millenium Bridge, and headed into the financial district for lunch. Lots and lots of people in suits--I think at one point we were the only people in view wearing jeans! We had lunch at The Counting House, a pub in a building that was originally a bank:



The food was excellent! We ate downstairs at bar, as the restaurant was full. The bar was full of people in suits (mostly men, a couple of women), all drinking beer at lunchtime.

I had the Counting House Special House Pie (steak, onions, & bacon):



and John had the steak burger with bacon and smoked cheddar:



On the way to our next stop, we happened across the Leadenhall Market. The market itself dates back to the 14th century (according to Wikipedia), and the elaborate roof was built in 1881:



Once we made it to the Tower of London (I highly recommend buying tickets online!), it was so interesting that we spent more time there than we had planned. The Beefeaters give great one-hour tours, telling us all about the executions that happened there, and the torture. Beefeaters are all retired from the army with at least 22 years of distinguished service, and they have to agree to live on the grounds of the Tower with their families. I wonder what it would be like to be a child growing up there--coming home every day from school to hordes of tourists.



John's favorite part of the Tower was the White Tower, with the Royal Armoury (lots of guns, swords, and armour):



I liked the Crown Jewels, housed in this building:





By the time we finished walking around the Tower, it was time to start thinking about dinner. We decided to go to our planned evening stop, Harrods, and find something to eat around there. We ended up at the Terrace Bar, where I introduced John to truffle fries:

(We did eat other stuff for dinner, too, but it paled in comparison to the "truffle chips." John had a steak, and I had a club sandwich with turkey, lettuce, tomato, and poached egg.)