Excavating London

Now back to base (well, London base) after another great day touring around with Annabel. We went by bus to the City with our first stop in Spitalfields to see the medieval charnel house recently excavated there. No bones, but foundation, walls, etc. that you could walk right into through an unassuming grey basement entrance. English Heritage employees were on hand to explain the site's history: the charnel house was probably built by a bishop's wealthy patron in the period of famine after the Little Ice Age and before the Black Plague (i.e., early 14th century). At the time it was near the 12th-century St. Mary's priory and hospital (contraction of "hospital" is where the first part of "Spitalfields" comes from) and stored remains from the churchyard so that graves could be re-used. The archaeologists found many bodies but presumably they are stored/catalogued elsewhere. It was amazing to see something so old and exciting to learn about it. 

On the way to Spitalfields we passed through Southwark and Annabel pointed out a tavern called the George that is mentioned in Dickens, was known to Shakespeare, and is now a National Trust historic building. I proposed that we return there for lunch, which we duly did, and enjoyed it muchly. Annabel had a burger and a pint of Perroni and I had fish and chips (how could I not?) with a pint of cider. We walked through Borough Market glad we'd eaten, because it is all upmarket local foodstuffs and we'd have gone broke buying ourselves Turkish olives and fancy cheese if we'd been hungry. 

Then we continued on through Southwark (do not ask me to say it out loud) to what turned out to be another cool archeological site, the Elizabethan-era Rose Theatre where Marlowe became famous and Shakespeare got his start. The Rose fell out of favor as other theatres were built; its owner let the lease expire and the theatre was gradually demolished so that the timbers could be re-used. Other buildings grew up around/over it till 1989 when its remains, preserved by its marshy location on land "reclaimed" from the Thames, were excavated. The site has had to be re-covered with sand and water till it can be properly excavated and preserved, but you can see the outlines of the structure (smaller than one would imagine) and the stage. The site has been protected from future development but fundraising efforts are still under way to complete the necessary work. 

While at the Rose, I had a surprise celebrity encounter: Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora Crawley (Countess of Grantham) on Downton Abbey was there--not in any official capacity but with a couple of friends or family. I said "Are you who I think you are?" And she said "No," which is really the only polite answer. Handicapped by my inability to remember her last name EVER, I said "But are you Cora Crawley?" to which she (logically) said no again. I added, "Not all the time," and she smiled and said "Not all the time."  Was starstruck and did not want to make a fuss so I did not ask for a photo or even an autograph. Thus, dear readers, I must fall back on the travel writer's traditional claims of veracity and assure you that this really happened, though I have no proof!

We left the Rose and walked on till we came to the Globe and I took a few photos from the outside. I'm glad the Globe exists again so that people can have that experience but at the same time it will never really be the same. My question all weekend has been "Why does London feel so different from Paris?" and I think one reason is that London is always aggressively modernizing and changing--often because it has to, like after the Great Fire and again after WWII. The Globe pops up between sleek modern buildings; the Monument (commemorating the Great Fire) looks squeezed among office towers. It's exciting in a whole different way, as if all of London's history is coming at you at once. 

We walked all the way down the South Bank to the London Eye as the clouds were breaking up and visitors were thronging around some kind of festival. I thought I wanted to ride the London Eye but just seeing it up close was exciting. Annabel says it is beautiful to ride at night but slightly less gratifying during the day. I also got some great views looking across and down the Thames though I think I missed my best chance to photograph Tower Bridge. Still haven't been to the Tower of London but given its longevity so far I expect it will still be in operation when I get around to it. 

So it was another great day sightseeing and history-learning. We were glad to get back here and sit down with a cup of tea. (There really is something to the whole "afternoon tea" tradition!) Tomorrow, back to Paris and I will hopefully have time to do a big catch-up photo post. À bientôt!