Wednesday, July 2
Today we gave ourselves a well-deserved break for the morning
- we all slept late before venturing out to explore more of London. We started
at St. Paul's Cathedral. This Cathedral was built in 1710 by Sir Christopher
Wren, a British architect. This was one of many cathedrals built since the
7th Century. The original one burned down in 1087, was then rebuilt in 1090,
and 
burned
down again in 1136. The new cathedral was built and modernized by a man named
Indigo Jones in the 1630's. This cathedral was again destroyed by the Great
Fire of London in 1666. The final design of the cathedral was composed of
Gothic, Greek and Italian architecture. The final version also had a large
dome, modeled after the Pantheon in Rome. It rises 365 feet over the center
of the Cathedral. Wren's many innovative ideas were based on a for of English
Baroque Architecture. The Cathedral's stalls and organ cases were carved in
wood. Wren and a British naval commander named Horatio Nelson are buried within
the cathedral. When we visited this cathedral, it was in the middle of a 5-year
renovation so that it will be ready for its 300th birthday. ~David
We
then walked over the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern Art Museum, which
is housed in a huge old power station. We enjoyed seeing works by Picasso,
Cezanne, and Monet. We also enjoyed reading about the furor caused by the
Tate in the 1870's when they spent 3,000 pounds for 3 stacks of bricks from
an American "artist" (Carl Andre) - the bricks are still on display along
with copies of all the press generated from this purchase. After stopping
at the Globe Theater and purchasing tickets for tomorrow night's showing of
Richard II, we took the Tube to the Tower of London. We arrived late in the
day, which was good because this is London's most pop
ular
attraction and the lines weren't long. Paula and I had remembered waiting
in huge lines to see the Crown Jewels during our last visit here. ~Steve
The Tower of London is a historical fortress on the north bank of the Thames River. The 18 acre site was designed by the bishop Gundulf and was complted in 1097. The fortress is made up of 12 towers, White Tower being the original. The other towers are Bloody Tower, Wakefield Tower, Devereux Tower and Jewel Tower. The Tower of London was used for royal residence as well as a prison. It holds the lovely crown jewels of England, displays of torture equipment, and more. We viewed most of these sites and were especially interested in the dazzling crow jewels. The Tower included the original crown of the kings and queens of England, their orbs, swords and bowls. ~Katie
Distance Walked: 4.92 miles
