I love the way life continually suggests things, so that themes and quests develop...

We recently visited The Museum of Innocence in Istanbul. Subsequently, I read the book of the same name.

As he sets up his own house of memories, Kemal, the central protagonist of the story, becomes a fervent visitor of museums, and one of the ones he especially likes is Sir John Soane's Museum. Which is in London. Walking distance from here. And free.

An obvious place to visit, therefore.





Sir John Soane (1753-1837) was the youngest child of a bricklayer. He moved to London at the age of 15, and forged a sterling reputation for himself in the world of architecture.

He also collected... Voraciously... The museum consists of three houses on Lincoln's Inn Fields, and they are a cross between a treasure chamber and a maze. There are tiny passages, inner courtyards, steep staircases, colonnades, domes, and even a "crypt and sepulchral chamber".

We loved it.

In 1833 Soane instigated the passing of a private Act of Parliament, which stipulated that his home should be left to the nation exactly as it was at the time of his death. This is why the museum has little signage. Which is good. You feel as though you are in someone's (admittedly idiosyncratic) home, and you can focus on the atmosphere, rather than the nitty-gritty of the details.

Some of the many highlights:










A feast for the eyes and the imagination.

Then we headed for the Museum of the Order of St John.

Last year, we kept coming across the Knights Hospitaller -- in Maplebeck, Winkburn, Ossington, and Temple Bruer, for example. The Clerkenwell Priory (where the museum is housed) was established as the English headquarters of the Order. When it was dissolved (first by Henry VIII, and then definitively by Elizabeth I), the buildings in Clerkenwell variously served as "the offices of the Master of the Revels", a coffee house, and a pub.


Now it traces the medieval history of the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (who, once driven out of Jerusalem, moved to Cyprus, then Rhodes, then Malta) and the development of the modern Order of St John in England (the parent organization of St John Ambulance).



Among the most interesting items are the letters sent by Rostand Merle and his brother, Claude -- who joined the Order at the age of 16 and 12 respectively -- to their parents in southern France in the early years of the 16th century: "Their pride in joining the Order reflects both their aristocratic background and the mythos surrounding the Order itself. This initial enthusiasm quickly shattered once Rostand had reached Rhodes, from where he wrote to his parents of the horrors he had witnessed, the terrible violence and death. This included, tragically, the death of his brother Claude, whom he had begged his parents not to send. Claude, brimming with pride in one letter, wrote list-like to his mother, enumerating all the things he was bringing on his way to Rhodes, again showing the financial networks involved in joining the order in this period, and the high levels of financial agency required."


A fascinating morning, then.

And finally, home, via some more of London's hidden places:



Today, Day 39, feels like the last day of Phase 2 of the trip. Phase 1 ended in Ljubljana, with the last of the countries that were unfamiliar to us both. Tomorrow, we're due to pick up a hire car, so the railway stage has now also come to an end.

Train reliance has been good for walking (on the trip so far, we have walked 408 km). With a car at your disposal, you have to be a bit more determined about getting the paces in.

But this coming phase is also the one where we start in earnest to catch up with friends and family (yesterday was just a little foretaste). This is the raison d'etre of the journey, and we're looking forward to it.