The Accidental Stroll

Tonight we decided to have dinner in Covent Garden. That's a simple trip from our flat - one Tube change, a few blocks of walking and we're there. Easy-peasy.
After dinner, we decided to turn left on Long Acre instead of going right and walking two blocks to the Covent Garden station. We figured we'd walk a few blocks and check out some new scenery.
Here's the problem with such a simple plan: In London you always see something down the block that looks interesting, so what starts out as a simple walk around the block becomes more than you bargained for.
Covent Garden is a fun place to visit. You may know it from "My Fair Lady" - it's where ELiza Doolittle met Henry Higgins. It was actually a Saxon trading port until the 9th century and agricultural land until the 17th century. Starting in the 1700s, Covent Garden started crawling with pubs, market stalls, gambling dens and the like. By the 1800s, it had cleaned up and become a vegetable, flower and fruit market. Today, it's full of trendy boutiques and shops, restaurants of all types and even a couple of celebrity hangouts (The Ivy and Bungalow 8).
As we walked down Long Acre, we were intrigued by a tall building bathed in blue light. So instead of turning as we planned, we walked toward the building, which happened to be the Freemason's Hall. From there, we made a right turn and found ourselves smack-dab on Drury Lane, in the midst of Theaterland. We passed a place called the Connaught Rooms - very swanky - with lots of men leaving in black tie. The theaters were lit up; I wanted to go in everywhere. We saw the theater where "Dirty Dancing" and "The Buddy Holly Story" are playing; then we turned another corner and saw The Lyceum, the gorgeous theater where "The Lion King" is playing.
Now here's where we made a mistake. We knew The Lyceum is on The Strand, and we knew that we could get to the Charing Cross tube station if we walked down The Strand a few blocks. But we turned the wrong way.
But what a great wrong turn. This journey took us down Aldwych by the amazing St. Mary le Strand Church. This beautiful church, built in the early 1700s, literally sits in the middle of this very busy thoroughfare. Obviously, since it was nearly 10 p.m., the church was closed, but I want to go back in the daytime for a tour.
Right around the church are the BBC World Service building and the London School of Economics. (Did you know that Mick Jagger attended the London School of Economics on a scholarship? He did - but didn't finish. I guess he couldn't get no Satisfaction there.)
At this point, we had no idea where we were headed, but we liked the view so we kept walking. Next up: The Royal Courts of Justice, an absolutely gorgeous piece of architecture. At this point, we're on Fleet Street, one of the most famous streets in journalism history.
Until the 1980s - and certainly before newspapers started adopting a slash-and-burn budgeting system - Fleet Street was the home for every newspaper in London and bureaus from newspapers all over the world. All the major wire services were there. On one building you can still see the painted inscription: "Dundee Courier - The People's Friend." On down the street: the ancient pub Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, where Dickens and Samuel Johnson hoisted a few in their day.
At this point, we're at the foot of Ludgate Hill, within view of the awesome St. Paul's Cathedral - where Charles and Diana were married. It's truly a jaw-droppingly beautiful building - Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece.
We grabbed a ride on the No. 4 bus which saved us a mile or so of walking and we got out close to our flat. We had about six blocks to go and it was getting late.
I wouldn't say we were truly lost at all, but we weren't quite sure just where we'd end up. In this fabulous city, it really doesn't matter - there's always something wonderful to see. That's why I love it here so much.