“It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume I

On our third day in London (my true love gave to me..) we spent most of the day in Southwark before taking in a museum and celebrating our anniversary a couple weeks late with dinner and another show.

We did Borough Market, which everyone really should check out if they get the chance.  It can be a bit touristy, but the quality of goods sold there (to say nothing of the ambiance) is worth it.  You’ll get produce that most places don’t stock (such as cilantro and plain black beans,  necessities in the Small Dog household), plus any number of artisan goods.

Borough Market really can be summed up best in pictures so here’s a few more for you to drool over, minions:

Hungry yet?  So were we.  We grabbed some quick bites and wandered through Southwark along the Thames, past shops, and generally enjoyed ourselves before heading off to the Imperial War Museum and wandering through Lambeth.

This is another freebie, but again, I encourage donations.  The front hall of the museum is a wanna-be soldier’s dream, stuffed with aircraft, artillery, and transports from the major wars of this century.  There are all sorts of rotating exhibits, we took in one that chronicled a single family’s experience with WWII and the blitz, and another about MI5 and MI6 and other secret operatives from the 20th century.  Great stuff!

We rounded off the night with an anniversary dinner at Kopapa in Covent Garden, which is definitely worth a look in if your around for a show.  They have a great pre-theatre menu, but their normal menu is incredibly good.  It’s a small plates restaurant, so you order several dishes and tuck in.  Psst!  Order the Crema Catalana for desert!

For our show we saw The 39 Steps, an comedic adaptation of Hitchcock’s film where 130 speaking roles are performed by only four actors.  Check out the trailer on the site to get a taste of how they managed to pull this off, because it’s absolutely brilliant!  Simple but hilarious special effects, classic British stiff upper lip, puns and allusions to other Hitchcock works, and even a cameo by Hitchcock (wouldn’t you like to know how they manage that!), this is a definite must see.   Hysterically funny!

The show was at the Criterion Theatre, right on Piccadilly Circus itself and just steps away from the tube station.  It was built in the 1870 and is an underground theatre, which during its construction was problematic as theatres of the day were lit by gas and let off toxic fumes.  Luckily electricity showed up in the 1880s.

*All photos mine