St. Paul's Cathedral

Today was our last day of lecture, and tonight we go see our last production (A Midsummer Night's Dream). We had a pretty big break though from the end of class to the time I need to get on a train out of the city, so I thought I would finally go inside St. Paul's Cathedral. A little background for you on the building: Finished in 1705 by the noted architect, Sir Christopher Wren, St. Paul's is the fifth church of that name to stand on those grounds, all the others having been destroyed by fire. Commissioned by King Charles II, the cathedral has the second largest free-standing dome in Europe, behind only St. Peter's in the Vatican. Lots of famous people are buried there, specifically John Donne, William Blake, Lord Nelson, Duke Wellington, Christopher Wren himself (whose tomb tells that his monument is the building around him), Florence Nightengale, and a bunch of other less famous people.

I'd seen pictures of the building, studied it in high school art history, and walked passed it several times on the way to the Globe, but I still was still not prepared for how big it was inside. Really quite amazing, and no pictures or words can do justice to it. If you are ever in London, go here and you will see what I mean. While there, I climbed up to the top of the dome, 280 feet above the floor of the Cathedral, or something like 450 steps. From there, I think that might be the tallest point in London, you can see just about everything, including the sea to the East. The wind also blows about 45 MPH, so you have to make sure you don't go over the edge. Amazing, and I have plenty of pictures from here to show. Pictures weren't allowed inside the building, so I have none from there. See if you can find some online though.

The end of my time in London comes too soon. The next two days are free days before our final, during which time I intend to see London a little more fully. I wanted to go to Canterbury to celebrate Chaucer, but no one wants to go with me. Some people are going to Oxford though, so I might do that. Hope you all are well!