England - Two Days in London, Part 1

Saturday, 11 May 2019

We went to England in mid-May to have a nine-day hike along the Dales Way -- more about that later. But first we had two days in London to adjust to the time change before starting our hike.

We walked over this overpass with it's interesting cast of characters.

It looks more conventional from below.

Our first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral -- designed (like so much of London) by Christopher Wren and modeled after the churches in Rome. After touring the interior, we climbed up to the small outside gallery at the top of the dome -- 528 dizzying, claustrophobic steps, mostly on spiral staircases. Just before the top, you can peer down through the "oculus" in the middle of the dome and view the cathedral floor 350 feet below.

View from St Paul's: the Thames

View from St Paul's: new London meets old London (and not-so-old-not-so-new London).

View from St Paul's: Paternoster Square. I particularly liked the ping-pong (ahem, table tennis) tables set up in the shadow of St. Pauls. Public ping-pong tables appear in a number of incongruous places.

View from St Paul's: Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian bridge that connects St. Paul's with the Tate Modern. 

After crossing the Thames on the Millennium Bridge, we walked along the south bank and re-crossed the Thames on the  Jubilee Bridge. All day the weather was highly variable. Within 10 minutes we had blue-sky sunshine, a downpour, and even pea-sized hail. Rinse and repeat (several times).

The pedestrian Jubilee Bridges flank a large railroad bridge. Mother Nature takes advantage of every nook and cranny to grow green stuff.

Big Ben and parts of the Houses of Parliament are buried in scaffolding while undergoing major maintenance and repairs.

On our way to Westminster Abbey, we walked through the peaceful Whitehall Gardens.