Tuesday, May 30, 2006

St. Paul's and other historical sites

Our Saturday walking tour with OK's family took us past numerous points of interest, including St. Clement Danes ...
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
... the home church of the Royal Air Force.
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
A kneeler cushion

We stopped in for lunch and a pint at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Samuel Johnson's favorite haunt ...
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
... which burned down and was rebuilt before virtually everything of European origin in the Americas was built (a staggering thought to this American).

The tour did take us past Samuel Johnson's home, which is a museum of interest mostly to Johnson aficionados (we didn't go in). However, the square nearest Johnson's house had a cool sculpture of his cat.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
St. Paul's Cathedral from the west.

The climb up to the Golden Gallery above the dome was worth it to me ...
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
... even with a windblown mist, although I found my legs were shaking once I reached the bottom from the climb up and the climb down. (Five-hundred-some steps all the way to the top.)

5 Comments:

Blogger Smitty Werbenmanjensen said...

The difference being that you have to pay 10 pounds to enter St. Paul's. It might make more sense for me to hike my neighborhood.

1:21 PM  
Blogger zeditor said...

Eddie and I had a midafternoon pint at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on our trip to London in 1999. We were advised to stop there by a Londoner. It was delightful (the coal fire felt good on a rainy November afternoon), and the pint was delicious. Your photo brings back a nice memory. Thanks!

1:48 PM  
Blogger Middle Kid said...

We listen to a kids' album by Pete Seeger and the chorus to one song is "Here's to Cheshire, here's to cheese, here's to the pear and the apple trees." Does Cheshire Cheese have some significance other than the random name of a pub?

Anyway, it looks like you're giving O.K. a great trip so far!

2:52 PM  
Blogger Smitty Werbenmanjensen said...

I've been meaning to go over to Southwark. My running route my first couple of weeks here (before we moved into permanent digs) took me right past it.

When buildings burn down, it gives you a chance to do it all over again, right?

9:02 AM  
Blogger Middle Kid said...

Yes, I realized that there was probably a cheese made in Cheshire, but you don't see famous bars called Monterey Jack or Wisconsin Aged Cheddar, nor do people usually sing songs about those types of cheese.

3:31 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home