We kicked off another beautifully atypical London day by taking the train to Greenwich, home of the Prime Meridian. This week it was also home to a Festival ... Tall ships. Before they started floating past we were able to go to the Royal Naval College (no longer in use), which was originally built by Christopher Wren. The very large dining room has a ceiling painted by James Thornhill that is the largest in England, and features King William & Queen Mary. We then scooted to the National Maritime Museum, before heading to the Queen's House next to it. The last remaining building of the Greenwich Palace, it now houses mostly art exhibits. We lunched on the waterat Trafalgar Tavern, sharing a pitcher of Pimms and watched over a dozen sailing ships (some nearly 200 years old) motor up the Thames, many in full sail. Everything came together in Greenwich, as the modern skyscrapers built across the river at Canary Wharf were framed by the older naval buildings as double decker busses and sailing ships could be seen.
A quick train ride back into old London got us to St. Paul's Cathedral by mid-afternoon. A church has stood on this location since 650 A.D., but the current Christopher Wren design was built after the London fire of 1666 destroyed the existing building. A very high ceiling in the nave, fabulous mosaic ceilings leading back to the high alter from an enormous painted center dome (also a James Thornhill artistry), the church is quite a sight. We took the 250+ steps up to the Whispering Chamber, a walkway around the dome looking down at the church. But why stop there? Another 120 or so steps gets you outside, on a walkway around the dome. But then, the next 150 circular steps, some with limited headroom, take you almost to the top of the dome. At 250 feet off the ground, the full views of London are unbeatable. 500+ steps back down didn't seem enough, so we went below ground to the crypts, where many of England's greatest countrymen are buried or memorialized. We finished our visit with a delightful Evensong service, sitting in the choir loft just down from the choristers.
Back at our hotel, we figured it was time to grab a drink at the 28th floor bar so we could compare views. The setting is quite nice, but doesn't beat the 360 views from the top of the cathedral. A relaxing Italian dinner just down from our hotel finished the day nicely. Not to give it away, but tomorrow is day three of touring the graves.
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