Poppies, The Shard and Borough Market

If you haven't heard about the poppies at tower hill, then you must have been living under a rock!

So with them disappearing soon, we decided to pop over to tower hill to see the poppies. They really are beautiful and if you haven't seen them and can before they get taken down then defiantly do it. I order you to and of course take an abundance Instagram worthy photos, that it makes it difficult to chose which one to post!

The poppies have attracted large crowds so i recommend getting there before 10, otherwise you will be very restricted in viewing them and it will take you a long time to walk all the way along. I think very early morning on a nice with the sunrise would look particularly beautiful similarly at sunset, and night with the lights also looks beautiful.

^ Soldiers laying down poppies for the 888,246 British fallen soldiers of WWW1.

^A sea of red

We then popped up the shard as it was free for children(for my sisters) in half term, and great for me as a student as its cheaper than a usual. its quite pricey for adults, but you can go half way up for free and have a coffee.

^ The magnificent shadow of the shard

Personally I love the unfinished look of the shard, unlike my sister who kept complaining that it wasn't finished, and why weren't they working on it ! 

^ a hazy Battersea power station.

We then headed over to borough market for a late lunch. It's one of my favourite places, as I love all the hustle and bustle, but sometimes during weekends and holidays there are so many queues (i swear it didn't used to be as popular), let me know of any more food market recommendations. 

Obviously, a trip to borough market wouldn't be complete, without several pictures of the delicious fresh fish stalls, and fruit & veg stalls.

^Giant cookies are always so tempting. And great mounds of chocolate always without a fail get my mouth watering.

How gorgeous do these English muffins and brownies look, I'm glad i live about 1hr away, instead of about 5 minutes  otherwise i would have these every single day.full stop.

There are always new food stalls in borough market, and these gourmet scotch eggs with an incredibly runny yolk served sweet potato fries looked super inviting, and on my ever extending list to have next time.

An old classic of borough market Raclette, with potatoes and pickles.

^A scrummy smelling hog roast.

We decided to have chips from the fish place as they are always so good, we quite often have the fish as well, but we decided to try something that we hadn't before, and fill our tummies up until they couldn't (well i'm sure they could) hold anymore.

We tried the vegetarian option in the market. spiced potatoes, which were incredible.

With a cauliflower and pea curry and served with rice and an optional sauce.

We also had an onion bhuji each, they were nicely spiced but were disappointing as they were cold and not crisp as we were expecting them to be.

The main part was delicious and perfectly spiced and wasn't heavy or to filling and I would have it again if there weren't so many other things to try first!

Emma x

Sarlat - Dordogne

So, apparently i haven't been blogging for over a month now. Apologies, though since i went on holiday i thought, i would share some pictures of a beautiful town, Sarlat.  

We went on market day, i recommend getting there early, like with most markets as the good stuff is the first to go! I also love the atmosphere french markets, with all the locals selling their fresh produce, yelling out their specialities for the day.

We also popped into the church there, which we didn't last year, and is a beautiful peaceful spot in comparison to the market, with the locals saying their prayers, away from all the tourists. 

One stand which i am always tempted by, is a local lady selling fresh vanilla pods, and they are the freshest looking vanilla pods i have ever seen. Unfortunately, i don't often use vanilla pods therefore, by the time i end up getting round to using them they won't be at their best.

Many small areas have several local specialities, and at the local bakeries and markets you'll find walnut caramel tart made with fresh walnuts grown near Perigueux. I would recommend it, as fresh walnuts are hard to beat and i love caramel, and with crisp pastry, it's very nice.

Very near Sarlat is the foie gras region, which is always highlighted in the local towns, with several market stalls and shops full of it. Although its not to everyone's taste, but many of the local producers do a mix with around 25% foie gras with the rest duck meat which is cheaper, and just as delicious, if not more. I recommend if you like duck but not too fond of foie gras.

Then there's the shop my Dad hates... Its a pottery shop which has beautiful, and very different plates and bowls, which my mum and i (i have to admit it!!), got drawn to last year, and in my Dad's eyes probably spent too much (but as generally our holidays fall after her birthday, she likes to treat herself).

 

After we did a full circuit of the town we spotted a stall, which drew us in by the smell, then looks, to delicious moist whole chickens and saute potatoes, which we took away and ate later ate by the Dordogne river for our lunch. Unfortunately, we had to agree that with a whole chicken and a large chip portion was enough, and the beautiful paella had to be left behind.

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