We woke up at 6 am (without an alarm clock since I left mine in Anchorage; I still need to get one) and wandered around the neighborhood in search of breakfast. I enjoyed seeing London with rested eyes (and without rain). After Amber found a place to get her espresso, I found a place for bacon, eggs, sausage, and toast.
The morning was still giving us sunny weather when we arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is such a beautiful building! The ceiling is very high and there are paintings or mosaics and the wrought iron gates are really exquisite. We climbed the 540 steps up to the Whispering Gallery, which puts you level with the base of the main dome. If you were to stand on one side of the gallery, and have a friend on the opposite (200 feet away), you can have a conversation without having to raise your voice. Next, we continued up another really steep staircase to the roof. It was very satisfying to be on top of a huge, beautiful building whilst looking over a huge city. We went down to the crypts, which weren't all that great, but the cafe had some good pastries. We left the cathedral just as masses of tourists were beginning to show up.
The morning was still giving us sunny weather when we arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral. It is such a beautiful building! The ceiling is very high and there are paintings or mosaics and the wrought iron gates are really exquisite. We climbed the 540 steps up to the Whispering Gallery, which puts you level with the base of the main dome. If you were to stand on one side of the gallery, and have a friend on the opposite (200 feet away), you can have a conversation without having to raise your voice. Next, we continued up another really steep staircase to the roof. It was very satisfying to be on top of a huge, beautiful building whilst looking over a huge city. We went down to the crypts, which weren't all that great, but the cafe had some good pastries. We left the cathedral just as masses of tourists were beginning to show up.
Adventure Amber
Southwest view from St. Paul's. The London Eye is partially visible through the haze.
We walked about a mile down the road to the Museum of London. There were some interesting displays covering the Roman, Saxon, and Renaissance eras, the great fire of 1666 (caused by the royal baker on Pudding Lane), and modern London.
Then, we went to the British Museum, which I absolutely loved. The building itself was extremely impressive. There were massive staircases and high ceilings to allow for the giant Egyptian ruins that were inside. We also saw Roman artifacts, mummies, artifacts from Greece, and the Rosetta stone (one of the high points of my experience).
After a light lunch in the cafeteria we went to the National Portrait Gallery, where we saw some Rembrandts, Raphaels, Da Vincis, and Botticellis. Afterwards we went through Trafalgar Square (where I saw a man kick a pigeon quite savagely) and ate our first good meal so far, at a pizza place. After dinner we took the tube up to Tower Hill where we discovered to our dismay that the Tower of London had just closed. The weather began to clear up and we took a walk around several corners to St. Nicholas’s (400 year old) church and sat among the ruined headstones for a while. We went back to Tower Hill for the Jack the Ripper Tour. I was expecting see more of the murder sites, and we only saw one. Amber liked it a lot. I found it interesting, however, I was tired from standing walking all day. After a slightly lost and confused trip home, we met the girls from Kansas who were sharing our dorm room at St. Christopher’s. They gave us some tips about where to eat in Rome shortly before we went to bed.
Tower Bridge
Mitre Square, site of Catherine Eddowes' murder
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