I’m starting to get caught up on these posts, but I know if I lose steam, I won’t get caught up! So here I am, writing my next post while I relax in my Brighton hotel after a fun, full day (though I’ve now migrated to my final London hotel as I’m about to publish it). It’s really been a great trip so far!

Now, we’ve gotten through Tuesday and Wednesday, so Thursday should follow, right? Right. We already had a couple of things planned and ended up using our afternoon to implement an idea Charlie gave us on Wednesday. And we had lovely, sunny weather again for all of it! First up, breakfast!

Now, I’ve said before that I don’t normally eat breakfast, not because I don’t like breakfast food (I love it, in fact!), but because I just don’t typically eat at that time of day. On this day however, we had planned to go to a breakfast place that’s become a bit well-known online that Felicity had found in her trip planning. It just so happened that it’s in Bethnal Green, about a ten-minute walk from our hotel, so it was a no-brainer. Pellici’s, as you may have guessed from the name, is an Italian place, but they also do British food and are particularly known for their English breakfasts. It was an easy walk, though the temperature was a bit cooler and the clouds a bit heavier than the previous day (don’t worry though – it became perfect again later), but we reached it quickly and were able to sit down right away. It’s a small place with a very local vibe – we actually shared a table with a couple who lives nearby! And while there, the whole place sang Happy Birthday to both a local (whose sister works at the restaurant) and another random patron. So fun! And of course, we had some very tasty and VERY big meals to boot! As you’ll see below, Pellici’s isn’t shy about their portion sizes and they aren’t short on flavor either. Is an English breakfast a flavor explosion in the first place? People who don’t like baked beans in the morning may say no, but I enjoy them and this was definitely a good one! With my Coke Zero, I paid £16 and I was plenty full for hours (even though I couldn’t finish it all!). Next time you’re around Bethnal Green, give it a try! Note that they are cash-only, but they’ll happily direct you to the nearest ATM if you try to pay with a card. Check out the yumminess below!

With full tummies, I was happy to get out and get some steps in to our next destination, which Felicity also chose. She does a great job of finding random, interesting things to do, so when she suggested we go to a mudlarking exhibit at the Museum of London Docklands, I immediately agreed. What is mudlarking though, I hear you ask? It’s the act of scavenging the banks and shores of rivers to find items of value or interest. And with a river like the Thames running through London, there’s a lot to find! The exhibit is called Secrets of the Thames and literally just started a few days before we arrived, though you may remember that I went to this same museum with my friends Matt and Lisa when I was here last year (that was for a fashion-centric exhibit though). I enjoyed that exhibit and the museum overall, so I figured this new exhibit would hit the mark as well!

It probably comes as no surprise to learn that a LOT of things have been found by mudlarkers over the years. Everything from false teeth to sundials to pottery to weapons and more have been found and given to the museum, though I’m sure there’s plenty more in private hands as well. Actually, in one section of the museum that’s focused on some modern mudlarkers, we learned that they’re only obligated to return items to the museum if they’re more than 300 years old (though don’t ask me how they can be certain of an item’s age). We also learned that mudlarkers must have a permit, so don’t go assuming you can trawl the banks anytime you please! After going through this exhibit though, I was left wondering if you can book a mudlarking experience with professionals or something like that. Definitely something I’ll look into in the future!

I’m hoping you enjoy the variety of photos from the exhibit below. I found it all pretty fascinating, especially given the tiny size of some of the found objects. How do people even see them sometimes??

Outside the museum and then heading in at the start of the exhibit.

An axe head and a mug. It’s remarkable the shape they’re in, isn’t it??

The items on the left are a small tobacco bowl (the top of his head is open to place the tobacco in) and a small shell used as a form of currency in Africa. The item on the right may look like simple rope, but it’s actually tobacco twisted together for shipping, along with a pipe.

On the left is an eyeglass lens holder along with someone’s prosthetic eye, while on the right is someone’s dentures (made from real teeth, no less!).

After the exhibit, we did walk through the rest of the museum, which remained unchanged from my visit last year, but it was new for Felicity, so I was happy to go through it again. I didn’t take any additional pictures, except for this one of Felicity, to match this one, which Lisa took of me and Matt last year. 🙂

Overall, this was a good exhibit and a nice experience! I doubt it’s something I would have found on my own, so I’m really glad Felicity suggested it! It’s running until March 1, 2026, so if you’re in London between now and then, I recommend visiting!

After we wrapped up at the museum, we circled back to previous night’s conversation with Charlie. While we were chatting, she mentioned a cool section of the Thames Path (exactly what it sounds like – a path that guides you down the Thames) that was fun and offered great views of the city. My immediate reaction was that we might do it on Tuesday (since that will be my last full day here and we have no definitive plans), but because we had a free afternoon and because the weather looked like it would be gorge, we did it today instead. What a great decision! In addition to the walk itself, we also had a drink at a cool pub and went to a random little museum across the street from said pub. It made for a great afternoon!

The aforementioned pub is The Mayflower and it was easily reached via Overground after we finished breakfast. The sun was already shining more by the time our train arrived, so just the walk from the station to the pub was grand. The name comes from THE Mayflower, the boat the Pilgrims took to reach what we now know as the USA. The pub has a book of Mayflower descendants that they’re happy to show to anyone who can prove they have a family connection to the people on the original boat, though I’m not sure what evidence is acceptable for that task. Also, randomly, this is the only pub licensed to sell US and UK stamps, so if you’re in need of either, just ask at the bar. 🙂

While enjoying our drinks at the pub, we talked about going to the small museum directly across the street. Although Charlie had mentioned it to us, neither Felicity nor I had heard of the Brunel Museum (Charlie hadn’t even been there herself, nor had the barman at the pub who lives around the corner), but we figured since it was RIGHT THERE that we’d pay it a visit. It’s dedicated to the Brunel family, particularly Marc Brunel, who worked some engineering magic to build the first tunnel under a navigable river, which is still used by Overground trains today between Rotherhithe and Wapping to get under the River Thames. It’s quite a small museum, but is a decent enough experience as you get to learn about the Brunels and see the entrance shaft to the tunnel on one side of the river (you sadly can’t use the tunnel itself since it’s, you know, needed for trains). It’s small enough that, when you walk in the entrance, you can see the entire museum and its contents with a quick spin on your heels, so it won’t take you long to explore it. Don’t forget to also walk over to the separate building that houses the entrance shaft (not much to see inside, but it’s huge and kind of cool, plus there’s a short informational film on repeat inside), but you really won’t need more than a half-hour to explore this place. It’s not a “destination” museum by any stretch, but if you’re in the area (for example, if you want to do this stretch of the Thames Path), pay it a visit. I think the perfect pricepoint for what it offers is probably £5, but it’s actually £8.50 for adults. I did see they have a family ticket for £13, which gives entrance to up to two adults, plus four kids, so we went for that, making our cost a more reasonable £6.50 (we’re splitting hairs here, but always good to save a bit of money). Take a look at the photos below and decide if it’s worth it for you!

Inside the entrance shaft. Like I said, not much to see, but still kind of cool.

From there, it was time to meander up the Thames Path! By this time, there were no clouds, the sun was shining brightly, and the temperature was basically perfect – not hot at all, but slightly warm in the sun and slightly cool in the shade. So…we walked! We didn’t have any agenda on this walk other than enjoying the weather, the views, and the conversation, along with taking some photos along the way. As someone who gets a lot of energy just BEING in London, this was a marvelous activity for me as it gave me the chance to walk through a part of the city I haven’t visited before and also provided excellent views of both the city and some residential areas along the way. And, probably best of all, it culminated in my favorite London view – Tower Bridge. Hope you enjoy the photos below as much as I enjoyed taking time!

Just past the museum and pub, we saw St. Mary’s Church. I always find it interesting to see small graveyards like this in front of churches, especially knowing how old the headstones are (most are so worn that they’re illegible).

Not one, but TWO directional signs. The Thames Path does meander just a bit, so the signs pointing us to the right way to keep following it were actually helpful.

A couple of last pictures after we walked past Tower Bridge.

I really put Felicity’s feet (and mine!) through the ringer, so by the time we crossed to the other side of the Thames, I knew it was time to have a rest. By this time, we weren’t too far from Leadenhall Market, which neither of us had been to before, so we headed for it. After walking thousands of steps, we had built up a bit of an appetite and we knew there would be plenty of options there. Would you believe where we landed?? Pizza Express! Regular readers may remember that it’s a local favorite chain of mine, so I was happy to rest my feet and enjoy some pizza. We split some dough balls (that’s kind of what Pizza Express is known for now, so why not?) and a Sloppy Giuseppe pizza, both of which hit the spot. We didn’t have time to explore Leadenhall afterwards, so I definitely want to go back and walk around more, maybe even on this trip because, as it turns out, it’s only a 15-minute walk to our hotel (though we’ve now moved to a different hotel, but it’s still very accessible).

Dough balls + pizza = YUM!

I was happy to walk off some of that Pizza Express after our meal, so I hoofed it back to our hotel, once I realized it was about a mile away. Felicity understandably opted for the tube, so she wanted to nearby Bank to give her feet a break. We had a bit of time to chill and refresh ourselves before we had to head out again for our last scheduled event of the day, a trip to the Gallifrey Cabaret. What’s that, you might ask? Well, it’s a Doctor Who-themed cabaret show that’s very LGBTQIA+-friendly and includes several performers doing cabaret/drag-style performances in a grand old theatre building. As we were planning the trip, we thought it would be fun to see a drag show, so when I found this, I suggested it as an alternative and Felicity was happy to oblige. And it turned out that both a local-ish friend of ours plus another friend who’s visiting from the US were also going to go, so we were able to see them a bit during the show. The venue, the Clapham Grand, was easily reached via Overground to Clapham Junction (which meant we could travel there via the station around the corner from our hotel – yay!), which we both appreciated.

Was it the best show I’ve ever seen? Probably not. But I LOVED the energy there, especially knowing something like 700 Doctor Who fans were there and that those fans were really excited to be there, had great costumes, and represented a ton of diversity, which did my heart good. ❤

The view from the front of the upper circle (left) alongside the view from our seats at the back of the upper circle (right). Not the best, but serviceable.

A couple of the cabaret performers.

They also had a costume contest and these pictures show just a few of the entrants. By the time everyone came up, the stage was pretty full!

Wasn’t that a good, eventful day? We did scootch out of the cabaret a little early because we were both feeling pretty tired and didn’t want to make the 45-minute train journey too late. I was happy to see my hotel bed by the time we got back, but I managed to get my first blog post knocked out before I got some shut-eye. Stay tuned for the next update about our move to Brighton (and Rye) for the weekend!