Hiya! Just back from some wonderful international travels! The first leg of my trip was to what still holds the title of my favorite city in the world: London!
As if even scratching the surface of all there is to do and see here weren’t a big enough job, I decided on this trip to do a bit of exploring under the surface as well – catching up with the city as it is today, but also as it has been!
I did discover on the way over that I had to catch up on my travel savvy too. My last trip outside the US was over a decade ago, and even my last plane trip was pre-Covid. As a result, it was a struggle right out of the terminal gate to clear what, to me, were new electronic hurdles at kiosks and such. And it was sure no ego boost to hear time and again: “You need to turn that over, ma’am” and “That’s right except you’ve got it upside down”. I even got intimidated by the tray table hidden in the arm of my airplane chair…
But things got better. And though I survived and even learned a thing or two over that humbling outbound odyssey, I still opted to get my London bearings the way I have over 40 years of periodic visits, with my own technique that doesn’t require swiping, tapping or scanning:
I took “The Walk”.
“The Walk” began with my first visit in 1985 when I found my way to Leicester Square’s half-price ticket booth to queue up for West End theater seats – and from there, I just started wandering!
Next, I “discovered” Trafalgar Square (in more pigeon-y days), squinted down the Mall toward Buckingham Palace, wandered past 10 Downing Street, and caught a hint of Westminster Abbey before taking a hard left at Parliament and strolling down for my first look at the glorious River Thames! Ever since that youthful expedition, retracing “The Walk” has been a happy tradition for renewing my relationship with historic London – and it takes me right back to feeling like that wide-eyed kid!
The ticket booth still offers last-minute theater bargains, but I felt flush enough this time to book tickets online (easier than pulling out a tray table…) – and, being a big Shakespeare nerd, I went for seats at The Globe!
I’d toured Shakespeare’s Globe on an earlier visit, but this was my first time getting to see two of his plays there (“Much Ado About Nothing” and “Taming of the Shrew”) – I even splurged on a rented cushion and a bench seat behind (and, dare I say, slightly above) the “groundlings” who stand throughout an entire show!
I knew though that this wasn’t quite the spot where the original theater stood. So while exploring what was new along the lively South Bank, I hunted down the very place right nearby where the Globe was first built in 1599, and where a few bits remain beneath:
Markings like these elsewhere on the London pavement offer hints to even older days! This arc of black stone outside the Guildhall Art Gallery reveals the former boundary of a Roman amphitheater that started packing in crowds for bloody spectacles in 70 CE when the city was called “Londinium”:
I really enjoyed the gallery’s impressive collection of artwork! But I was also anxious to make my way downstairs to where now, resting in eery quiet, are remains of the amphitheater rediscovered in 1988 during building renovations. While not on the scale of Rome’s Coliseum, they offer an intimate local example of a bygone and brutal day:
Gotta love what this city does with its basements! Within London’s “Square Mile” of financial and other modern buildings is a high-rise constructed over the remnants of a prime piece of Londinium real estate – the Billingsgate Roman House and Baths:
I arranged ahead of time to get a tour of this former Roman home which was built, renovated and lived in between the 2nd and 5th centuries. It would have overlooked the Thames until a defensive wall built around the city must have taken a serious bite out of its curb appeal. (“Boudica Shmoodica – where’s my view?!”)
Our small guided group got to wander along platforms built over the foundations, and we were cautioned not to drop anything onto the protected stones as we weren’t allowed below. Being a bit klutzy, I held my phone all the more tightly while getting pictures of Roman era walls, hypocaust heating systems, and even a few of my blog-namesake “tesserae” tiles that once adorned the floors – man, if only those tiles could talk!
After seeing London’s history laid out in stunning stratified layers, I went on another excursion that instead offered a massive mix of the area’s history – I went mudlarking! That’s the hobby of combing through the mud of a riverbed to see what the outgoing tide’s left behind. Excited to give it a try, I showed up in Wapping (near the Tower of London) where I was given disposable gloves, a large plastic bag and friendly advice on how and where to look for pieces of London’s past!
There are rules about mudlarking along the Thames – among them that we weren’t allowed to dig, only to pick up what appeared on the surface. Our guide had some reference materials and offered his opinion on potential treasures which, yeah, might also largely be defined as “one man’s trash”. But that didn’t matter to me – because this was ancient trash!
Just like with my recent air travel, I had to try and make a rapid ascent up the mudlark learning curve – during which this exchange happened more than once…:
ME (ever hopeful): “Could this be a shard of Roman Samian Ware?”
GUIDE (ever gentle in bursting an archaeological bubble): “Mm, that’d be a bit of sewer pipe, actually.”
My favorite find of the day did turn out to be pipe – but not of the sewer variety. While several-inch sections of the long, narrow stems of old smoking pipes were a pretty common sight along the shore, a slightly rarer find was the actual bowl of a pipe – but I got one!
Our guide consulted his notes and estimated it was from sometime in the late 1600’s to early 1700’s! I wouldn’t share an interest in smoking – but if the pipe’s owner accidentally bobbled and broke this one? Well, that’d make us kindred spirits for sure!
Technically, I suppose my mudlarking finds aren’t especially remarkable. But they’re of great value to me as individual little stories from history that have been flotsam-ing and jetsam-ing around the Thames all these years before finally coming to rest in a wee Los Angeles apartment –
And I’ll bet they didn’t see that coming!
On this latest London visit, I loved connecting and reconnecting with my favorite city on so many different levels – from picturing toga-clad crowds that once cheered on their favorite gladiators, to mingling my laughs with those of centuries’ worth of audiences who’ve reveled in Shakespeare’s plays, to conjuring one particular soul who, in the twilight of a long-ago London eve, might have settled back into a chair and puffed on a pipe to set its leaves a-glowing.
What fun it was to take a walk that bridges the time between my visits, to browse through a vast span of London lifetimes, and to delight in every little bit!
TESSEROLOGY 
Well done. I love wandering along the Thames and walking is the best way to do London. Feeling nostalgic as it is too long since I have been up to London.
We had a stroll on the mud at low tide and found a pipe, but more importantly felt very close to Charles Dickens; so many of his characters live and work and sometimes die in the river! I loved the ticket booth, when we lived by Heathrow we could decide on a Saturday morning to jump on the Piccadilly line and head straight for the booth.
Thank you! I really got a kick out of mudlarking – but it did make me think of Dickensian days too when the word applied to people who scavenged to try and eke out a living. And here I was just doing it for fun…And yes, I adore walking around London – best way to really get a feel for things!
Sounds like you had a fantastic trip.
I sure did! It was a real pleasure to be back out seeing the world!
A great walk in one of our favourite cities. We have walked a similar route and were also lucky enough to see a play on the Globe. Hope all is well Amy. Allan
Still smiling from such a fun trip – hope all’s well with you too, Allan!
Thanks for sharing another travel adventure, Amy. I think it’s time for me to apply for a new passport!
The world beckons, Mike – after all your dedicated work, it’s time! Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to find out where you go first!
I love this! Felt as if I was walking the streets of London with you. Thank you!
Wow, thank YOU for coming along!
Thank YOU for writing it so that we can all join in. 🙂
So happy for you– travelling again!!
And what a great story of your remarkable adventure!!
Love and blessings–
Thanks so much, Cara – and all the same back to you! ❤️ It was a remarkable adventure for sure!
Thank you for a trip down memory lane. Strange how the same place can evoke such different emotions. I spent the first 18 years of my life in London, left in 1974 to go university and never felt the need to return. My London was crowded, chaotic, dirty, noisy and unfriendly. But your essay reminds me of the “other London”, oozing with history and dripping with culture. Objectively, I think London’s a great place to visit but a lousy place to live, unless you are rich enough to be able to live there in clean and comfortable luxury. Maybe it’s the same with all big cities?
Well, I can sure confirm that London is still crowded and chaotic! There’s definitely a challengingly hectic side of the coin there but, for me, the brilliance of the other side makes it all worth it! Amid the chaos, I was able to find uncrowded and serene spots too. And while I often wandered past noisy parties and rallies, I also paused to hear a busking violinist in one spot and a bagpiper in another who added a beautiful soundtrack to my London experience! I agree too about how it’d handy to be rich (I expect in any big city) – for fun, I picked the posh Sloane Square area as the place I’d want to be able to retreat to for some comfort and peace if I had the means! Maybe my visits have been timed over the years so that I never quite lose the excitement of all London offers – and, while I agree the coin has two sides, I’ll still gladly deal with the one to get to savor the other! Thanks for reading – and thanks so much for sharing your London take!
Hi Amy. I’m glad you have experienced London at its best, rather than being a grouch like me who focusses on the negative. All I would say, though, is there’s much more to this country than London (and I don’t just mean Stratford-upon-Avon!) Before retiring I spent most of my vacation time overseas (to illustrate, I have visited 6 continents and all 50 US states), but over the last few years have focussed on getting to know the UK better. I’ve been constantly surprised and delighted by the number of hidden gems waiting to be discovered.
It’s been my pleasure to branch out from London on my earlier visits – and I sure hope to get back and see more! In the meantime, it’s nice to get ideas by visiting your blog!
Thank you for a very interesting walk in London. That mudlarking is something really special. I have been reading in FB stories of a famous mudlarking lady in London, so it is easy to understand how great it is to find something old used in everyday life hundreds of years ago.
https://www.facebook.com/LondonMudlark
Yes, I do think if I lived in London, I’d be a mudlarking addict! Thanks for coming along on the tour!
Thank you for helping plan my future ideal visit to London! Love this.
Thank you – and hope you fall in love with London too!
Mudlarking, what a fun word and activity!but why aren’t you allowed to dig a bit?I’m so glad you enjoyed your London visit
Thanks! Mudlarking and the whole trip were great fun! Not sure on the digging thing except maybe they want to protect areas from too much damage, and also protect an archaeological find that should be excavated properly. I heard on the BBC that mudlarking is becoming so popular that they’ve stopped issuing new permits for a while. Didn’t realize what a trendsetter I was! 😉
This I like – being shown parts of my own country I don’t know too much about (and should) by a foreigner, happy travelling Amy
My pleasure! Those Romans did get around, didn’t they? Thanks for reading – and happy travels to you!
I had one quick experience with London—40 years ago! My mom and I had an overnight stay in London, which meant only a few hours to visit this amazing city. I made sure we took a ride on a red double decker bus and ate fish and chips.
Two quintessential London experiences! Hope you can add even more sometime – thanks for reading and sharing!