More of London

I found out that "The City" of London is only one mile square and is considered the richest square mile in the world. It's located within greater London which has a separate mayor and governing bodies. London was originally surrounded by a stone wall built by the Romans when they were here and a small part of the wall still exists. The boundaries of The City are essentially the same as they were in the Roman times. Old and new co-exist side-by-side here and the contrast is usually charming (although not always).

While there's a Starbucks on every corner, apparently English coffee houses pre-dated the Starbucks trend by a few years. This plaque was pointed out to us on a very good walking tour we took. It was in a very narrow alley way...one of many that have been there since medievil times...maybe earlier.

There are plaques all over London telling of interesting facts relating to the site. In addition to the coffee house one, another that I remember but didn't photograph was the Great Fire Started Here, 1666 (on Pudding Lane). It started in the King's baker's shop and, apparently, how it started is still open to debate.