Sunday, October 22, 2006

St Paul's

A pretty standard Saturday in London. First of all an early gym class, followed by the post office and then off to St Paul's.

St Paul's is one of those things in London that both Kelly and I have walked or driven past nearly twice a day or more all year. And yet we have never stopped to find the time to walk into it for a good look, let alone climb to the dome. Today was different, as we have made the effort to visit the church properly.

The cathedral is amazing. It has rich paintings, lavish trims and a huge dome in the middle. One can imagine why Dianna preferred this church for a wedding over the somewhat more somber Westminster Abbey. The dome paintings are incredible; however the view from the dome is similar to that of Monument. We could see the church near our flat and Arsenal stadium. That made us realise just how close we are to the city centre. That is the distance I have been walking to work for the past 10 months.

Once again the church has a rich history with all of the usual names - Wren, Henry VIII. But this isn't the only St Paul's cathedral - this is at least the fifth to be built on the site. The cathedral also featured in WWII when it was relentlessly bombed with grenades - it was only due to the group of people who camped on the roof and disposed of the bombs that it survived.

Click on the photo to see more of St Paul's Cathedral

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