February 23 to March 1, 2000
Day One
After flying across the Atlantic and having slept very little during the overnight flight, my delightful travel companions and I headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. You may know that St. Paul's is the most well-known of Christopher Wren's many churches. The Cathedral is capped by a 365-foot dome. There are three viewing levels, each accessible only by very narrow and steep sets of stairs. A bit of a workout to reach the top, but persistence is the key to climbing the 530 steps.
The first dome is the "Whispering Gallery" where whispers from one side of the gallery can be heard - 170 feet away! The view is of the church interior.
At the second level called the "Stone Gallery", I looked down and saw...
According to the clock, it's 2:23 p.m. GMT and it's been far too many hours since I last slept.
Up another 150 steps on a long tight metal staircase... The view from the top of the cupola is spectacular. In the foreground of the photo below is the Blackfriar's Bridge. I walked across it another afternoon, stopping to buy some succulent large mineolas. Three for less than £1. What a wonderful meal!
You can also see the London Eye near the centre of the above photo. The London Eye shows up quite faint in the photo, but there is a much better shot of it that I took on Day Two of my trip.
Of course, the only way to get back to ground level is to descend those very same stairs that I so determinedly climbed a mere 45 minutes ago! Down into the crypt we went, to see the historic bones and memorials of the famous and not so famous. The grand tombs of General Wellington and Admiral Nelson are located in the centre of the crypt. Of course, Sir Christopher Wren's tomb is also located in the crypt, close to that of Florence Nightingale and famous English painter John Turner.
Of all the memorials, I particularly liked the one to William Blake (1757-1827). It is inscribed with the following verse:
That was pretty much it for my first day in Londontown. Sleep and cider seemed more important than sightseeing at that time. Head over to Day Two to continue the journey.