Signs of Spring and the Da Vinci Code

I arrived in London at 6:30 in the morning after an uneventful flight. Athough I expected a temperature of around 50 degrees, it was much colder, with a brisk and chilly wind. However, quite unexpectedly, signs of spring were everywhere, including blooming magnolias and abundant daffodils. While walking in Hyde Park I came across a large forsythia bush with a plaque that said that William Forsyth (1737-1804). He was the superintendent of Hyde Park Gardens, and it is for him that forsythia are named. Quite cool to note this plaque when the forsythias are in full bloom!

I met Elliott for lunch, and we took a walking tour devoted to sites mentioned in the Da Vinci Code. Actually, the "theme" of the tour is just a loose way of organizing lots of random thoughts and facts in a thoroughly entertaining way. Our guide, Tom, is a practicing lawyer, so much of the tour focused on the "inner" and "middle" temples of London, which is in the "legal" center of the city. The Knights Templar, mentioned in the Da Vinci Code, whose role was to ensure that ordinary civilians could travel to Jerusalem safely for a religious pilgrimage, owned the land where the temples now sit. This is a very historic spot at the border of the old cities of London and Westminster. We spent a lot of time in the Church of the Temple (shown with Elliott in the photo), which is a beautiful church that dates from the 1100s. In the book, Robert and Sophie come here to find a clue associated with buried knights. The knight directly in front of Elliott is the first Earl of Pembroke, who played a major role in the development of the Magna Carta. Lots of history everywhere you turn!