Tuesday 8 September 2015

Beefeaters and Burger Eaters

Our last day consisted of us running all over the city, to get in as much sight seeing as possible. We jumped on the tube (having become pros by now, tutting at tourists) across to Tower Hill.

The Tower of London is somewhere I've always wanted to visit. I've got a serious fascination with the Tudors, especially the reign of Henry VIII, so was really looking forward to experiencing some of this history first hand. 

Just a tip if you're visiting this or any other London attractions and you're heading into the capital by train, check out Days Out Guide for two for one offers. The gate price per adult for the Tower of London was £24.50, so we made a great saving with this offer. They have to be printed in advance though, so plan ahead and you can get a good deal, especially if you have children! 


We headed in through the gates, but noticed that a Yeoman Warder guided tour was about to start, so we tagged along. This was undoubtedly the best decision we made all day, as Billy Beefeater (@billybeefeater on twitter) was the funniest and most informative guide we could have had. He constantly had us in stitches when we weren't overawed by the history. He's not Anne Boleyn's biggest fan, that's for sure. I won't give too much away, but I can't implore you enough to make time for one of these tours if you visit.



We then wandered around on our own, joining the queue to see the Crown Jewels, housed in the Jewel House below.


They're a must see if you go, but I definitely found the White Tower a bit more interesting personally. Suits of armour and all sorts of weaponry - always the tomboy!



I was completely absorbed in the White Tower. The monuments and artifacts are so interesting, and there are many interactive exhibits that add to the fun. However, there's just this overwhelming feeling of history within the walls, that you can't help but imagine what it would have been like in the 1400's, wandering down the spiraling staircases.


Even the sky turned a foreboding colour of grey!


We didn't have nearly enough time to look around, and I'm looking forward to when we can next go back and give the attraction our full attention. I'd definitely make sure I had a full day ahead of me next time, but we had a train to catch and dinner to grab first.



Isn't Tower Bridge a thing of absolute beauty? I love it.



There was one more thing on my list that I couldn't leave London without, and I dragged my poor husband over the Thames and all the way across to Southbank to get it.


After a few wrong turns, we finally found our destination, Bleecker St. Hiding under a bridge was a little unassuming box of burger heaven.


After drooling all over my phone looking at these guys on instagram, we already knew what we wanted from the menu. That'll be two Bleecker Blacks (£10 each) and a side of Angry Fries (£4) to share, please.

As soon as our dinner arrived, I was more than forgiven for once again dragging poor Mr. P all across the city in the name of food.


Oh yeah. That's right.  Two medium rare beef burgers, topped with cheese, sandwiching a hunk of black pudding. Oh my days. Want a closer look? You know you want to.


Hands down the number one burger I've had so far. I'm a sucker for a bit of black pudding, but have never had it in a burger before, let alone a cheesy juicy rare one. It's outstanding. Well worth the £10 price tag, this would have filled me up on it's own.

But of course, this is me. There was no way I was leaving without getting some of those Angry Fries down me. Good sized skin on fries (none of that 'skinny' business thank you) doused in a generous helping of hot sauce and blue cheese sauce.


Needless to say, we devoured the lot. Well worth persevering with our map skills to find the place, this was the best meal we had, and a perfect end to our weekend away. We rolled our bellies back to the train, and dozed happily until we arrived back over the border.