St. Paul Cathedral was so beautiful, I got goose-bumps
multiple times!!! The outside was a pretty cream colored brick with a large
dome at the top. The grounds were actually a main pass-through for commuters.
We opted for the audio tour of the cathedral so we could move long at our own
pace. The ceiling was so stunning, I could have sat and admired in awe for
hours. The mosaics were glittering depicting each of the stages of creation,
including Adam and Eve and the creation of the planets. It’s a shame pictures
were not allowed because I would have loved to frame and display the images
from the mosaics. The planets were interesting because the church made a
conscious decision to include them as a bridge between theology and science.
There were also statures of historic figures and war heroes. The structure of
the cathedral was impressive with the high Dome on top of the seating area. The
mosaic ceilings were over the Quire, where the choirs composed of men and boys
would be located during services. The sanctuary was the most interesting simply
because of the world war two memorial dedication to the American Soldiers.
There was a large book that held the names of every fallen American Soldier,
and the page was turned every day. After
we had sufficiently toured the first level, we climbed 256 stairs to the
Wispering Gallery. The Whisperung Gllery is the inside of the large Dome
covered in stunning paintingsdepicting the life of St. Paul. It is 300 ft
across—in diameter—and was so quiet that if you were directly across the
gallery from one another, you could whisper and be heard like you were sitting
right next to each other. The large group of German students made it impossible
to test since they were so loud. We decided to head up another 100 or so steps
to the stone gallery. It was outside the great dome, on the top f the
cathedral. It yieded a 360 degree view
of London through the bars of the gallery. It was a beutiul day with sunshine
and clear views. The pictures turned out great! From the Stone Galery, we
ventured the 152 more steps up a winding grate stair case that was incredibly
steep. I waited at the bottom for the rest of my group initially to let the
German class pass. The amount if
disapproving looks from the leaders, judgemental comments from the girls, and
snickers of apporvals of the boys about my outfit choices was crazy! The best
part was that I could catch what most of them were saying! (Thank you German
Minor!!) Once we got to the Golden Gallery, we surrounded the top spire of the
dome and were greeted with a far reqching view of the city. I was terrified!! I
hate hights but it was a once in a lifetime trip, no excuses. The pictures show
the city stretching for miles and miles in all directions. It was
unbelieveable. The pictures are perfect, mind the few that are a bit shaky from
my trembling hands. Next was the crypt,
in the basement of the Cathedrl. We descended the 500+ stairs to another two
flights into the crypt. There were people buried everywhere! Plaques hung on
the walls and were sealed in the floor. There were all sha0pes and sized, some gilded
and some just carved. There were status ad devoted memorials for almost
everything. One of the most interesting was the small chapel that was dedicated
to the parish of St. Faith. It was a small parish that was overtaken by the
remodel of the cathedral after it was bombed in World War 2. There was also a memorial
for Admiral Nelson and another prominent war hero. The exit gates in the crypt
were erected as a memorial to Churchill.
Leaving the cathedral, we ventured along our pre-determined path
across the millennium bridge toward the Borough Market for lunch. The Borough
market did not disappoint. It was rather large and had anything you could think
of. We stopped at one of the little stands that had a whole hog on a roasting
spit that they were carving for the sandwiches. The hog was marinated in
rosemary and the sandwich was assembled with a smear of a fennel apple
gravy—for lack of a better explanation—and a handful of mixed greens. The cracklings
were salty and crunchy and made the sandwich that much better!! We ate in a
sunny church yard with all the business men.
We crossed the London Bridge to catch the tube at Monument.
Which is named for a stature called “the Monument” in the middle of the city.
So random. The tube dropped us right off at Tower Hill where we managed to
catch a Yeoman tour right away! Steve was his name and he was funny! Beefeaters
have to have been in service for 2 years, received an award and had an exemplary
record. Steve showed us the traitors gate bloddy tower, the wihite tower. We
were also granted access to a state church housing the burial locations of Anne
Boleyn, Henry the VIII’s second wife and Catherine, Henry’s 5th
wife, after they were beheaded on the green. I* wandered away from the group at
one point to take pictures of the gaurds surrounding the building with the
crown jewels, and got yelled at by a beefeater when my tour group entered the
chapel. We wandered through the crown jewels, saw the largest diamond in the
world in the scepter and all the crowns worn by royalty. From the crown jewels
we went through the white tower, where the block on which Anne and Catherine
were executed. We also saw the armor worn during war by the kings and princes.
Queens never wore armor. The bloody tower had a small display of the torture devices,
we stopped in before we took off to the tower bridge. We dint go into the
bridge but we did get the view from the bridge. London as a city foes very well
mixing old and new structures.
Running back to the hostel for some extra layers and a quick
nap, we headed out for the photo ops!! We ventured to Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster
and to Buckingham Palace. Chelsea managed to snap a photo of me that is typical
tourist London. Big Ben, red phone booth, and a double decker bus…
YAY!!!!!!! We dined at a small pizza and
cocktail place called Maverick, and turned in for the night.
Day 3 brought us an early morning and a beautiful train ride
to the wild and wonderful Scotland.
