Greenwich Market

Maritime Greenwich is now an official Unesco World Heritage Site with a large concentration of buildings of great architectural and historical significance. Located in the South East of London, I had to take the tube out of central London to the docklands and business district, walk through the Greenwich foot tunnel which led to a steep flight of stairs (the tunnel was under repair and lift was not in service) to get to Greenwich. And as I was panting away, cylists were able to lift their bikes over their shoulders to climb the stairs without any sign of fatigue.

My first stop was the Greenwich Market as it was almost three and I needed some form of sustenance. The intoxicating smell of seafood paella was wafting through the air and the choice was clear. A man in an apron was preparing it in a huge flat saucepan right in front of the window in a quaint little cafe . For an Asian, a taste of rice would be comforting. And as I was enjoying the food with a friend, in view were open shelves of French gourmet food displaying bottled Ratatouille, bouillabaisse and soup de poisson. I couldn’t resist my favourite config de canard with goose fat and bought a tin consisting of four duck drumsticks. Not exactly healthy but you only live once. And for dessert, the very sinful yet irresistible Brazilian churros at the market, freshly made, filled with caramel and chocolate within and coated with sugar and cinnamon outside. Enough sugar overload to prepare me for more heavy walking to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Park and the Old Royal Naval College.