Wow, it's been way too long (again) since I updated our blog! One of my excuses is that I came down with a cold in early March which meant we didn't get out much for about two weeks. My other excuse is workload... both of us have been so busy with work and school which involves copious bouts of writing that neither of us had much enthusiasm for updating the blog. But never mind, on with the show!
A few weekends ago we went to St. Paul's Cathedral. It was one of those places that was on our to-do list but we just hadn't gotten around to it yet. It is mainly white inside, not exactly plain because it's filled with statues, but it is very different from the inside of Westminster Abbey 
(of course, it's also a much newer building than Westminster). We took the plunge and climbed to the very top of the Cathedral. It is quite a climb! The first 259 steps are very wide and shallow and take you up to the famous "Whispering Gallery". (Unfortunately it was too busy to do much whispering, and although we did try it out all I could hear on my side were the people beside me trying it too). But from the Gallery you get a fantastic view of the huge paintings that are inside the dome of the church, representing scenes from the life of St. Paul. Another 119 steps later (this time up a steeper and more tightly spiralling staircase) and we were at the Stone Gallery which takes you outside for a view of the city. Once we had our breathing back under control we took the final 172 steps up to the Golden Gallery at the very top. Now this was a scary climb up a spiral metal staircase (I am not a fan of heights). After making it to the top it was well worth the effort. The Gallery is tiny, and lots of other brave folks were crowded up there with us. It offers spectacular views of the city. Here's a view from this level (look for the London Eye in the distance).
(of course, it's also a much newer building than Westminster). We took the plunge and climbed to the very top of the Cathedral. It is quite a climb! The first 259 steps are very wide and shallow and take you up to the famous "Whispering Gallery". (Unfortunately it was too busy to do much whispering, and although we did try it out all I could hear on my side were the people beside me trying it too). But from the Gallery you get a fantastic view of the huge paintings that are inside the dome of the church, representing scenes from the life of St. Paul. Another 119 steps later (this time up a steeper and more tightly spiralling staircase) and we were at the Stone Gallery which takes you outside for a view of the city. Once we had our breathing back under control we took the final 172 steps up to the Golden Gallery at the very top. Now this was a scary climb up a spiral metal staircase (I am not a fan of heights). After making it to the top it was well worth the effort. The Gallery is tiny, and lots of other brave folks were crowded up there with us. It offers spectacular views of the city. Here's a view from this level (look for the London Eye in the distance).What is interesting is from this vantage point you can see some of the architectural features of the buildi
ng. A few weeks before we had seen a documentary on the BBC website about Baroque architecture which talked a lot about St. Paul's. Christopher Wren designed it so that it looks magnificent both from the outside and the inside, but what you see from both vantage points is actually not the same. On the outside there are false higher walls that make the building look taller than it actually is. When you are standing on the Stone or Golden Gallery you can see into the "ditches" that are made by this false wall (you can see one of these ditches in the picture here). Both the inside and outside of the Cathedral have the famous dome - but the dome you see when you're outside and the one you see when you're inside are actually not the same thing. There is an external dome that is higher than the internal dome. When you climb the scary metal staircase to get to the Golden Gallery you are actually climbing beside an internal cone-shaped supportive structure that holds the two domes on either side. Whew!
ng. A few weeks before we had seen a documentary on the BBC website about Baroque architecture which talked a lot about St. Paul's. Christopher Wren designed it so that it looks magnificent both from the outside and the inside, but what you see from both vantage points is actually not the same. On the outside there are false higher walls that make the building look taller than it actually is. When you are standing on the Stone or Golden Gallery you can see into the "ditches" that are made by this false wall (you can see one of these ditches in the picture here). Both the inside and outside of the Cathedral have the famous dome - but the dome you see when you're outside and the one you see when you're inside are actually not the same thing. There is an external dome that is higher than the internal dome. When you climb the scary metal staircase to get to the Golden Gallery you are actually climbing beside an internal cone-shaped supportive structure that holds the two domes on either side. Whew! 
No comments:
Post a Comment