A day in the City

Today (Tuesday) has been much cooler in London; the max was 14oC, considerably cooler than the past few days where it was getting up around 20oC by the afternoon. We started the day with a brisk, warming walk to Bethnal Green station on Mare Street, taking the Underground to St Paul's station in The City.

We came to this breathtaking, up close, side view of the beautiful dome of St Paul's Cathedral just a few minutes after leaving the station.

We'd both seen St Paul's before in the seventies in our backpacking days but we were too cash strapped then to pay the entry fees. So we were very excited to be experiencing this building that is so significant in the history of Britain (a cathedral dedicated to St Paul has stood on this site for over 1400 years) properly.

There are strict rules about no photos inside (it is a place of worship after all), but I was able to sneak this one as we climbed up some of the 528 steps to the Golden Gallery near the very top of the dome, 85 metres above the cathedral floor.

...allowing us some of the most breathtaking views of London. Although you can't quite see the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben was booming the bell tolls for eleven o'clock as I took this shot. It is so loud it seems to shake the whole of The City.

This is the view to the East. A tiny looking Tower Bridge is just above Rob's arm. That funny wedge shaped building to the right of the picture is still under construction. It will be the tallest building in Europe when it is completed; over 330metres. From this vantage point London looks to be one huge construction site; there are cranes and scaffolds and machinery everywhere.

We enjoy spending time in the cathedral crypt too, the burial site for naval hero, Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington, among others...fascinating.

From the cathedral it was only a short walk up St Martin's Le Grand to the Museum of London. We loved the few hours we spent here. The Museum presents a compelling and interactive account of the history of London from prehistoric times to the present. Parts of the old London city wall from Roman times (when it was known as Londinium) have been unearthed in the Museum grounds, which provides a powerful link to the objects on display.

The centrepiece of the City gallery is the Lord Mayor's Coach which is now more than 250 years old. Despite its age it is still in use each November for the Lord Mayor's Show. The City, although one of the world's most powerful centres of finance, is only a square mile in size and only has around 10,000 inhabitants, so that is a pretty over the top vehicle for its mayor!

Rob and I both felt steeped in London history by the time we'd finished. I hope we can remember all the important bits.

We pondered this as we slowly drank our London Prides at the Lord Raglan pub just a few doors down from the Museum. We couldn't work out why the pub was full of "suits" all drinking furiously at 3.30 in the afternoon! Rob had enough front to ask one of them and he replied because we knew you were coming! (No, apparently there was some work function on.)

We decided we'd walk further up through the financial district to the Covent Garden area for a look see. Walking along The Strand we were impressed by the beautiful old (well 1870s old) Royal Courts of Justice building (the Law Courts).

and our old stamping ground, the Australian High Commission. In the 70s, before the internet, we had to visit regularly for all our news "from home". I can still vividly remember the excitement of receiving our snail mail letters from family, finding out about baby Claire's arrival and then later in the year about the sacking of the PM (Gough Whitlam).

We found the Piazza area of the old Covent Garden markets eventually and felt a little underwhelmed by its redevelopment - very touristy we decided. So another very, very late lunch before boarding a double decker no 26 bus and making our way back to London Fields.

We managed to get the two front seats on the top deck and had a bird's eye view of all the sights (and traffic snarls) in The City and the death defying antics of London's new band of cyclists.