Today after breakfast we took the Tube out to St. Stephen Walbrook’s Church. It was built just after the Great Fire by Sir Christopher Wren (he built basically every church that exists in London). It had a beautiful interior space that had a very personal and intimate feel. There was also a stone altarpiece that both created a distinct centrality within while emphasizing circular unity around. We even got to hear the organist practicing which was pretty cool, but the best part was getting to be there alone since we were the first people there.
From there we walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral, and on the way we saw an absolutely horrible modernist building (a redundant description but it requires the extra emphasis) that looked like a submarine/battleship building dressed like Waldo. We also got to see the Temple of Mithras (built in the 2nd century AD) that had been discovered during the construction of a foundation and subsequently raised up 18 feet to sit at street level.
Once we got to St. Paul’s we got to explore the many absolutely fantastic spaces (no pictures allowed inside so please look it up!) and revel in the overwhelming scale and sublime detail of the decorations. After circling the entire main floor, we took 257 of the most awkward and frustrating circle stairs up to the Whispering Gallery which sat at the base of the rotunda and allowed great views down into the main space. From here we took another 119 steps up to the Stone Gallery, which was an exterior ring that allowed for views out to the city (obstructed by a giant stone railing though…). Finally, after 200 of the tightest and narrowest stairs imaginable we arrived at the Golden Gallery, which circled the very top of the rotunda and provided amazing views all over. We believe that it is the tallest non-skyscraper point in the city!
After the horrifyingly long journey down we walked to the Christchurch Greyfriars Garden, which was a fantastic shell of an old church (Wren of course!) that had been destroyed and subsequently turned into a public garden. The various plant features referenced the pews, columns and aisles in plan of the original. Very cool!! This space is one of several church developments and part of a series of 150 public spaces that the government takes care of.
From there we walked through Lincoln’s Field Park to John Soane’s House and Museum. The museum was actually his residence where he collected and displaced countless artifacts from all over the world and all through time. If I had to describe it, I would tell you to picture a wall, and have that wall covered with so many paintings, sculptures, statues, etc. that the wall is no longer visible. Now build a 3-storey house out of those walls. There were even artifacts on the ceilings!! The high point for me was the authentic Egyptian sarcophagus in the basement (it had to be lowered down by crane!).
After a good deal of careful exploration we wandered around the area searching for food. Eventually we stopped at a small café where we had teeny tiny little sandwiches (mine had pastrami and jarlesberg* cheese-very tasty!). From there we walked to the British Museum, which was absolutely massive and would have required a whole day just to see it all once. So instead we picked a few things like the Rosetta Stone (which we finally saw after surviving the mob of Asian tourists…), Egyptian relics with hieroglyphs, pieces of the Parthenon (which we will go to in Italy!!!!), and Easter Island Head, and 6 of the Pieces of 8.
From there we walked to Regents Park via Fleet Street (no Johnny Depp…) and Oxford Street (the Soane’s House of streets). We saw the new BBC building, which was pretty cool, but we got yelled at for taking pictures. The park was unbelievable massive, filled with many different types of spaces: from gardens with a ton of different plants to open green spaces to ponds and rivers. Walking through this emphasized one of my favorite parts of London: the amount of green space available combined with the amount that they are used compared to the USA. We walked around there (got lost) for a good while before finally escaping and took the Tube out to Hampstead.
Hampstead was a very hilly and affluent area that was gloriously removed from the jam-packed streets and tourist traps of the city. From the station we took the long walk to a pub that our theory teacher recommended called Spaniards (built circa 1585). It was a fantastic, small, un-touristy spot with amazing food. I tried some Hard Cider and London’s Pride Ale; both were pretty good! The food was true British, my meal was Pulled Beef Brisket Cottage Pie topped with Celeriae and Horseradish Mash. It was ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE!!! For desert I had a Plum, Raspberry and Frangipane Tart with Custard-also unbelievable. After we finished we embarked on the long and pleasantly full walk and Tube ride home.
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