Day 6

Our only plan for today is a Medieval dinner tonight at 7:30p. So what shall we do for today? Back to Borough Market for a visit with fewer crowds. We were going to stop at a somewhat hidden gem of a park, but we missed it along the way! I guess it is well-hidden! We made our way across London Bridge and on to Borough Market. 
By London Bridge

We were surprised most things were just opening. We didn't realize this and arrival before 10a probably isn't the best idea. Anyway, we strolled around and shared a little cup of scrumptious Gelato at 3BIS Gelateria. We tried two flavors never tasted before - Panna Cotta and Mascarpone with Figs. Both were outstanding! We really came back to do a little shopping and taste that mushroom risotto that we saw the other day. I found a few things to take home to the kids but the risotto is not ready yet. We are getting hungry so close to 11:30 we opted for empanadas from Portena, with its Argentine food. They were very good. We shared three kinds, spinach, beef, and cheese. While I sat there, John walked back and got the risotto. After this anticipation, it wasn't as good as I hoped. The mushrooms were fantastic, but the risotto itself was a bit toothy and it was a different rice that seemed more like a different grain. Anyway, we were full. 
Empanadas
Mushroom Risotto

From Borough Market we made our way to the London Eye. I'm pretty sure with temperatures topping 100F we will not be venturing outside very much tomorrow. Anyway, we found the queue and it only took about 30-40 minutes to get onboard. I will add, there are machines to purchase tickets with a credit card so we did not have to wait in the long line for that. We can say we did it now! Views were really amazing and John enjoyed the mechanics of it. I enjoyed that it was air conditioned and had a bench! Time to head back to our hotel because it is heating up and we want to relax before the Medieval Banquet tonight.

Our Medieval Banquet was "touristy" but we had a good time. It would have been a LOT more fun if we sat with fun people. We were at a table of 10 and we were on the end. It was quite crowded at that table and the big teen boy practically had his giant elbow in my plate much of the time. I nudged him more than once to no avail. The venue was not full, so one wonders why crowd folks? I don't think anyone at our table spoke English either, but who would know since they looked at their phones most of the time. I will say the food was good and the entertainment was quite good for the time period. The entertainment came out and down the middle of the venue at the beginning and between courses. Our first course was split pea soup, bread was on the table. One is not supposed to ask for a spoon but drink from your bowl, which we did. They brought the soup in a cauldron-like serving piece. Next up was sort of a salad, more like appetizers. Cheese, meat, a few slices of cucumber and tomato, lettuce in the middle. All of it was good. Everything is served family style. Next came chicken quarters, either dark or light meat and then a dish of roasted vegetables came with it. More entertainment, more ale, more wine, more bread, more of anything you wanted. We never did try the ale because it was rather warm down stairs and though you could feel some a/c it was a little oppressive with all that rich food too. We had some red wine and it was good. Ice water was most appealing! We are glad we went but we did leave before dessert, which was to be apple pie. We were stuffed, hot, and tired. I will add that you can rent a costume for a nominal fee, but who wants to put on more layers of clothing in the heat? It is walking distance from our hotel at Katherine's Docks area and from what we are told we were perfectly safe to walk back at 10:30p when it was due to end. We walked back to the hotel at 10p and look forward to falling into bed! 

Slurping Soup

Salad Course
Chicken 

Contortionist
Elbow in "my space"!!!

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