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I started off Monday morning in London by taking a dive down the stairs of a double-decker bus (duh!) and quite likely spraining my pinkie. But there was nothing for it, had to continue on because I was determined to do a bit of sightseeing before dinner, which was to be my only homecooked meal of my trip. So off I went to Covent Garden, kind of because I knew how to get there…
As usual I arrived at a time when I should be having some sort of lunchy snack so ended up at Polpo (because I happened to be walking by) and had a couple of their “small plates”. 
Arancini… give them a miss, devoid of flavour and 2 pounds EACH (srsly?)
tasty and spicy pork meatballs
After a stroll through Covent Garden I took a friend’s advice and headed over to Marylebone high street. Apparently there wae cute shops and what not to be seen there. Well, it was quite a hike over there from Covent Garden, and I enjoyed the walk, but actually found the shops in Marylebone a bit… well, let’s just say they were nothing I could relate to. But I did find a nice pub and had a glass of wine there before making my way to Peckham Grove for dinner.
It was actually Oli’s @CoteduPy spontaneous invitation for dinner at his place with girlfriend Phoebe @plemess that sealed the deal on my booking this London trip. Before that I was wondering if I should really do this, in spite of the generous offer from @inkjockey & @missbishopsgate of a place to stay while I was there (their place!). But Oli said we had to do this and also invited other mutual friends @andrewfriedhoff @vinoveroleigh and supplied the wine, while Phoebe cooked dinner for us. A done deal.
view of MY SHARD from Oli’s apartment
rooftop dinner 
It was a great evening and after eating out on the terrace we got cosy inside and, well, had a few wines… nothing like enjoying good food and wine with kindred spirits.
The 
Philip Morton runs
Brothers Dan Anton and Jono serving up fab Burmese street food.
Tealeaf salad and prawn curry. Burmese street by Lahpet
By now the market was beginning to shut down so I had a last glass of wine with Philip and made my way back towards Tower Bridge… and then I saw a sign for something called the 
Finally it was time to head home and I made my way back over Tower Bridge. This was my one “totally on my own day” without meeting up with any friends. But the whole experience at Maltby made me feel so at home, so much in my element (chatting away with everybody) that I never felt like I was on my own. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon, followed by a cosy Sunday evening in.
This Turkish food stall smelled amazing, but we were saving ourselves…
Outrageously expensive, and not something I’d probably do again, but it was fun and I got to see my Shard from a whole other perspective (yes, I am slightly obsessed with the Shard…)
hot butter devilled shrimps
black pork Kari Dosa with chutneys: coriander, tomato, coconut
slip sole with smoked pimentón butter
roast saddleback chop, coco de paimpol beans and salsa verde
Lizzie chewing on a bone
One issue with my otherwise fabulous apartment in Wapping is that the WIFI is dodgy, to say the least, making it impossible to work. And although not ideal, Mark suggested I pop over to the nearby Yurt Café to take advantage of their WIFI. Turned out to be an unusual and interesting venue, a massive yurt with a small patio basically under the rail lines. So I was able to get some work done and it was a nice place to spend the morning.
Mark 
whole fried sea bass – spectacular presentation but didn’t quite deliver on taste
star dish of the evening – pork neck with “nahm jim” sauce
all the Som Saa dishes we tried
just to show I wasn’t exaggerating about noise level – we measured it
casa azahar 