Day 2: Ancient Powers

After sleeping for 12 hours and having breakfast, we went on a walking tour of the eastern half of London. This mostly covered the City of London, which is a square mile along the Thames that is the oldest part of the city. The Romans founded their civitas of Londinium here. The Great Fire began here. St. Paul's Cathedral is here. Europe's financial sector is controlled from here... for now. It's a jumble of centuries old buildings full of historic character and establishments right next to ultra-modern steel and glass towers, some of which have an unfortunate propensity for  melting car parts.

After we finished the tour, we walked back to the Tower of London, but were too late for a Yeoman Warder tour. We will save that for the 27th. Instead, we took the tube to Westminster, and toured Westminster Abbey. St. Paul's may be the biggest church in London, but Westminster Abbey must be the most important. It is the ornate church where royalty is crowned and wed, and where great Britons lie buried or memorialized. Shakespeare is buried here in "Poet's Corner", beside Dickens, Milton, Jane Austen, Handel, and TS Elliot. Isaac Newton lies near Lord Kelvin, James Maxwell, Dirac, and Darwin. Queen Elizabeth I, and many other monarchs are interred here, along with Sir Robert Baden-Powell, who founded Scouting. This church is more a monument to England's legends than anything.

After a brief detour to Trafalgar Square, we returned to the city of London for some dinner and drinks. Drinks were had at a tavern called Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which has been in operation since 1538, and has existed in its present form since 1667, when it was rebuilt after the fire. Writers like Dickens, Ben Johnson, Tennyson, and Mark Twain are all known to have dined and drank there frequently. Today, it is a Samuel Smith's pub, which means pints of Old Brewery Bitter are £3.10, and so what would be a tourist trap anywhere else is frequented by locals and tourists alike.

Dinner wound up being at a nearby bar called Ye Olde Cock, which was selected because it had open tables, and a name that drew giggles. Alecia got a steak and ale pie (despite being on Fleet Street, we are fairly certain no human flesh was involved), and Adam got fish and chips. Ye Olde Cock had existed as a business since 1549, and indeed Alfred, Lord Tennyson had written poems about hanging out there, but the current building dates from 1887, and is across the street from the original. Both were tasty and very filling.

Tomorrow is a day trip to Stonehenge and Bath.