St. Paul's Cathedral

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I had no idea what to expect when I entered this Cathedral. Well I've never really been in one before so I don't have anything to compare it to. But it was gorgeous with all of the light streaming in and hitting all of the the gold trimmings and murals that are painted everywhere. I went there with my history class and I seem to have chosen the best classes over here to be in. My theatre class just goes to plays all the time and writes reviews. My history class we take field trips to places like St. Paul's Cathedral and upcoming we have the London Tower. Then my anthropology or popular British music class is just listening to music and learning about it the entire class time.

Anyways more about St. Paul's. It was built by Christopher Wren in the 17th century. This isn't where all of the Royal people get married that's Westminster Abbey. Although, Princess Diana and Prince Charles was married there. The building that is there is essentially the fifth building in the same spot since the original St. Paul's. It has been burned down so many times. It wasn't completely burned down during WW2 and the bombings, only part of the building was. During that time it was seen as a part of London that was strength because it was one of the tallest buildings left standing during the bombings.

When I walked in I felt the impression of a Catholic church because there are so many details in the architecture, murals on the walls, and tons of stained glass windows. Christopher Wren never intended to have all of those murals because he wanted it to be a simple church. Although it is a Church of England. There are many statues to see of people and in the basement is where there are graves of famous people. This is where royalty is laid to rest but instead artists and people of military. For example, Winston Churchill and Duke Wellington are buried here. There are places for worship blocked off, not because the public can't go there to worship, but instead to mark it as a place of silence. Another place is dedicated to the soldiers of the United States that died in WW1 and WW2. There is a book of the names of the soldiers that died and if you notify the Cathedral of the day you're going to visit they will turn to the page in which your family members name is inscribed.

They also have models of all of the versions of the Cathedral's that were constructed on the same spot. Before you go down to the basement they actually have a carving of skulls above the stairs. Which makes it seems as if you're going to see tons of skeletons in the basement. Which isn't true at all. In fact because the Cathedral is so busy upstairs, downstairs in the crypt is where they hold all of the weddings. Well except if you're royalty. I also climbed to the very top of St. Paul's dome! At the very top it's called the Golden Gallery and has some amazing views of London. All it took was climbing 528 steps up to the very top which is 85 meters or almost 279 feet from the Cathedral floor. Overall, it was an amazing sight to see, yet another historical spot that I could not take pictures in but could from above.

Later that night I went to a play in the Old Vic Tunnel's Theatre and saw a play called "Our Days of Rage." As the name of the theatre indicates it is in the tunnels where the tube used to go but doesn't anymore. Instead on the outside the tunnels are allowed to have graffiti on them and there are some interesting pieces of work. The play was interesting because you stood the entire time and moved around the tunnels. First we were taken into the entrance of the tunnels and stood there as the actors were perched on ledges above the standing audience. In the next scene we were taken to yet another part of the tunnel where they had converted it into a movie theatre and the audience became apart of the play. In the main part of the play we were taken to yet another part of the tunnel and stood there in what was supposed to be an open street. This play was about riots that have happened not currently but in the past. It goes back and forth about peaceful protest and out right violence. It ends with the main character Hanna bombing what is supposed to be an event in which the current youth are able to express their opinions through speeches and pieces of artwork. It pushed the boundaries as to what I'm used to when going to a play which is always a good experience although the play wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

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Photos

Me & Alissa
Atop the Stone Gallery...only 376 steps up!