On our first, full day in London, we were in for a sunny scorcher, two words not often associated with the city. Knowing that shaded, indoor spaces would be slammed with tourists seeking shelter from the heat, we decided to be bold and plan for an outdoors day. We chose to start with a hop-on, hop-off Thames excursion, hoping that the water would miraculously make the day more bearable. It was a nice thought, anyway.
We used our London Pass, got our tickets, and climbed aboard the first boat towards Greenwich. A river cruise is a good way to see a city from a different vantage point, so we take the opportunity when it is presented. We headed up the Thames and disembarked at the Tower Bridge with a plan to walk to Southwark. It was almost 11 by then and the heat and sun were already turning taking their toll on us, so we walked deliberately towards our first stop, the Borough Market.
We chose the market on the advice of an English friend we met last year while in Italy. His recommendation was spot on. The Borough Market is the kind of place I wish I could shop daily. Situated under railway arches, the market offers stand after stand of fresh fruits and vegetables, bakeries, artisanal cheese, cured meets, cold juices, and ethnic food. My first stop was to claim a gluten-free cherry scone. The boys, who had only three weeks earlier returned from a trip to Asia, grabbed some chicken laksa from a Malaysian vendor to check the authenticity. We later opted for some freshly squeezed orange-mango juice to combat the heat. I’m not sure I would have put a market on our London to-do list with our teenage sons, so I am grateful to Lee for planting the idea. It was a do-not-miss destination with wonderful dining options for everyone.
From the market, we made a beeline to The Shard. The Shard was not part of the London skyline when we visited 22 years ago. Begun in 2009 and opened to the public in 2013, the tower is a relatively new London fixture. Comprised of reflective glass panels, The Shard is a striking bit of architecture, with the lovely side benefit of being able to offer 360-degree viewing platforms at 69 and 72 floors up, respectively. On a good day, the view is said to be 40 miles. To add to the experience, The Shard has bars on both those observation decks, so it’s a great place to grab a quick drink and take in the scenery. Steve and I ordered a couple Aperol Spritz and toasted to our English friends, Lee and Jo, for the sightseeing suggestions they had provided that were turning out to be gold.
Our next stop was the HMS Belfast. Our youngest son is a history buff and is especially fond of war machines and weaponry, so a visit to this retired, WWII warship was a must. I’m not entirely sure a visit to a metal ship in the midst of a heatwave was a wise choice as I melted each time I entered an enclosed area to view an exhibit, but Luke thoroughly enjoyed his time there so it was worth it. It’s a fine place for history buffs and is easy to get to from Tower Bridge.
About the time we wrapped up at the ship, the temps were nearing a 102-degree heat index so we headed back to the river to catch the boat again, headed up to Greenwich. After discovering there was no cool spot to sit on the boat (the upper deck’s metal seats got a big NO vote from me and the enclosed lower area was getting zero pleasant breeze even from the open windows), we settled on the lower deck out of the sun and sweated our way up to Greenwich.
When we disembarked, we planned to hit the Royal Observatory first to visit the Prime Meridian before heading back to tour the Cutty Sark. With our London Pass, we cruised in through the admission area at the observatory and went to wait our turn for a photo op because, let’s face it, the Prime Meridian line is nothing more than an Insta spot. We had fun standing on either side of the imaginary line separating east and west hemispheres. Joe stood on the western side with his head in the east while Luke stood in the east with his head in the west. It summed up their personalities…Joe at home wishing to be traveling east and Luke out and about dreaming of home.
After our obligatory photos, we cruised back down the hill to the Cutty Sark. I will admit this was one of the places I had a hard time getting excited about while we were planning. Knowing, however, that a visit here would mean something to Luke, I sucked it up. It turns out that the exhibit is well done and fascinating. The Cutty Sark is the last surviving tea clipper, a sailing ship built to bring goods quickly from east to west and vice versa. A large fire in 2007 could have destroyed the ship but she was undergoing restoration at the time and most of her masts and planks had been removed during the process. As a result, 90% of the Cutty Sark, which first launched in 1859, is still original despite the fire. The exhibit allows you to walk under the ship as well as stand on her decks. The visit was a fascinating trip through history to a time when the Cutty Sark was the Amazon Prime of the day.
When the top-rated Indian food restaurant we were hoping to dine at had too long of a line for our hot, exhausted, cranky selves to tolerate, we chose a small, Naples-inspired pizza place called Rossopomodoro in Covent Garden. The food and wine were good (a decent gluten-free pizza can be hard to come by), and we were long overdue for some rest and sustenance. At dinner, we reflected on our day. I joked that I couldn’t wait to tell people I’d gotten my tan in London.
We arrived home having logged over nine miles and 22k steps. Despite the hot evening in our basement flat sans air conditioning, we crashed out early, dreaming of London’s typically cooler temperatures and cloudy skies.
Live Now and Zen 
I love how you captured one of the hottest days probably in Londons history 😊 We also to try to always visit the local markets, not only are the often tourist attractions, you often find the freshest and most interesting eats.