To south London and one of the oldest parts of the city. Ironically then we emerge from the tube at London Bridge station more or less underneath the pyramid shaped Shard - new, modern, and supposed to be the tallest building in Western Europe (does this mean that there is, improbably, a taller building in Eastern Europe?). At 310 metres it's tall enough that you really have to get a couple of blocks away to be able to see it properly. It is possible to go up to the top but at £29.50 we decide to give it a miss. There's a champagne bar, presumably to help one forget the entry fee. But by the time we get a couple of blocks away, by Guy's Hospital, the view of the Shard itself is quite good.
And then for the something old. We're not far from the Thames, and pass the Maze, once a pool by the Thames. Now drained, but the site where the remains of a Romano-British ship was discovered. And we're only a few blocks away from the George, an old coaching inn that's been on our list of pubs to visit for years. The George dates back to the 16th century, and was frequented by Shakespeare, but it was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1677. The current building was visited by Dickens, who drank in a great many London establishments. As a coaching inn it provided accommodation for both people and horses and was a stopping point for those coming up from points south, like Kent, for business in London. An old sign hangs inside, its surface crazed with the cracks of time, giving the tariff for horses - shod at two shillings a hoof, stabling one and six. We stop for a drink and then admire the galleries. It's easy to see how Elizabethan theatre made use of the natural stage provided by inns with galleried courtyards. 
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