Saturday, May 31
This morning we took the tube to St. Paul’s, where we saw St. Paul’s Cathedral, the only cathedral to portray the vision of but one architect and to be completed during his lifetime. Christopher Wren’s cathedral at St. Paul’s displays that same glory and beauty displayed by Westminster Abbey, though it does not follow the Gothic tradition. The inside was just as magnificent as the outside, and we were able to climb to the top of St. Paul’s (434 steps), where we witnessed a remarkable view of London. Next, we walked over Millennium Bridge to see the outside of the reconstructed Globe Theatre, where most of Shakespeare’s plays would have been performed.
We had lunch nearby, in one of the busiest markets I’ve ever seen. After, we took a short tour of Southwark Cathedral, a smaller but no less glorious masterpiece of prior ages. I’ve begun to notice the respect for the past portrayed in each cathedral and church, as each contains numerous memorials and elaborate tombs to various people.
Finally, we visited the Tate Museum of Modern Art, a collection of some of the finest trash I have ever seen :).
By midday, I discovered I was sick, with runny nose, sore throat, and a fever, so I pray I’ll be able to enjoy the rest of my trip!
~James C.
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- The Millennium Bridge, seen from the top of St. Paul’s
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- Konditor & Cook, a sweets shop where every president since, I believe, Eisenhower has had their sweets ordered from (it’s in the middle of a really cool market, with lots of other neat places to eat)
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- A view of London from the top of St. Paul’s
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- St. Paul’s Cathedral
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- St. Paul’s Cathedral again
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- Another view of St. Paul’s Cathedral
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- A view of St. Paul’s Cathedral from the other side of the Millennium Bridge
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- Another view of St. Paul’s Cathedral
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- A lower part of St. Paul’s seen from the top
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- Southwark Cathedral
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- What used to be London Bridge (the rest, I believe, is in Arizona)
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- A replica of Sir Francis Drake’s 16-century galleon, the Golden Hinde
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- The Globe Theater seen from the top of St. Paul’s (it’s the small thatched hut-thing in the middle)
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- Daniel Huisinga and I on the top of St. Paul’s
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- The entrance to St. Paul’s Cathedral
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
The view from atop St. Paul’s is amazing.
It is interesting to contrast the bird’s-eye-view of London to that of Berlin that we saw. In Berlin there are a lot more trees, and many red roofs.
The Globe Theatre picture is cool!
Dad