First priority of today was definitely St. Paul's Cathedral. The last time I was in London, there was some sort of important ceremony taking place and we were unable to see the inside. Therefore, I was determined to fill that gap in my London experience. It was totally worth the price of admission. The Cathedral is absolutely stunning, with beautiful gold work and decorations and an impressive dome in the center. Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed inside the cathedral, but I'm not sure that a camera could really capture the amazing detail of each part of the building. Along with a beautiful area that functions as a church, we were also able to see the cathedral's crypt, where many important figures are buried. The Duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson have the most impressive tombs--you certainly can't forget that they were significant individuals. Less visually spectacular but certainly more personally exciting were the plaques commemorating JMW Turner and William Blake. The architect, Christopher Wren, is also buried here with a plaque that says something along the lines of "If you seek his legacy, look at the walls around you." After we'd finishing creeping around in the crypts, it was time to climb. The staircase leading up to the dome is essentially divided into three levels. The first level would be the Whispering Gallery, named because of the unique architectural feature that allows a whisper to be heard clearly from all the way across the dome. The guard stationed there took much pleasure in exploiting this fact, whispering things like, "Remember, no cameras" and "Ooooo, the Whispering Gallery!" The gallery offered much acoustic entertainment as well as a great view of the ground floor below. We pressed on then to the Stone Gallery, which is really just a place for those who are out of shape or afraid of heights, because the real goal is the Golden Gallery, the highest point of St. Paul's Cathedral. I should amend my statement about those not in shape--the Golden Gallery is an agonizing 528 steps to climb 85 meters above the ground floor, not a feat for the faint of heart. I don't think there was anyone who wasn't gasping by the end of it. But whether or not, you were short of breath from the climb, the views from the top would certainly leave you speechless. It's certainly debatable that St. Paul's has even better views than the London Eye, though of course the London Eye doesn't demand quite so much for the great photos.
After it started to rain a bit, we descended the same stairs and exited St. Paul's, heading across the Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theater. I mention the bridge because fans of the Harry Potter movies will recognize it as the one from the beginning of the sixth movie when the Death Eaters are terrorizing the city. No Death Eaters today, but there were some ominous rainclouds. Anyway, no true English major can visit London without visiting the Globe, so to the Globe we went. Naturally, this isn't the same Globe of Shakespeare's time--that was burnt down. But it is a pretty accurate reconstruction and still hosts both Shakespeare plays and newer plays during its season. We were unable to get groundling tickets (aka the cheap "seats", quotation marks because its a standing only section right in front of the stage), but we got to watch the tech crew setting up for the evening's production during our tour.
We were a bit hungry at that point, so we kidnapped Beall and went to Covent Garden for lunch. Covent Garden is almost like Reading Terminal Market, with crafts and food for sale. It's also home to the London Transit Museum. We didn't actually go in the museum, but the gift shop is one of the coolest places to get souvenirs. We had some time to kill before we needed to return to our hotel and pack for Edinburgh, so we stopped by Buckingham Palace. We weren't able to make it over for the Changing of the Guard, but it was nice to see it later in the day with less crowds. Unfortunately, the tours of the Palace were beginning the very day we were leaving, but the outside was still quite a sight.
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