& St. Martins on Chritmas Eve
The City and Covent Garden:
The City:
I planned to see the Tower but it was closed - as it was Christmas Eve.
NOTE: ALMOST EVERYTHING IS CLOSED ON CHRISTMAS EVE.
I walked from the Tube station along the tower westward, until I reached the Monument (on the left going along Eastcheap St., By All Hallows by the Tower Church) - Build by Wren to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666. The Monument, Build in 1667 originally blamed the French in the fire - and a line in the original inscription is stroked out. I couldn't climb on it as it was closed (Christmas Eve - Remember). The Monument's height is 222 feet which is the exact distance from the Monument to the place the fire started ( A bakery in Pudding Lane) - And I wander - why didn't they built it exactly where the fire started - as it was all burned down (with the rest of the city) - maybe then they would not know how tall to make the monument?
I walked along Cannon St. to Queen Victoria St. and there turned right to Mitras Tempel (Not much to see).
From there I went to St. Mary Le Bow - a nice church shaped like a wedding cake (actually all wedding cakes are shaped like this church - as the first spired wedding church was made by a baked living next to the church (Turn right from Queen Victoria St. to Bow Lane) and from there I went to *** St. Paul's Cathedral.
St. Paul's - The forth Cathedral built on the site, was built by Wren in 1669 is a magnificent church.
I took an audio guide which takes about an hour an a half to listen to. I listened to most of it on the stairs up - which is a very long climb:
259 stairs to the Whispering Gallery - where you can hear every whisper
of everybody else in the gallery - even if he is 100 meters away - due
to the shape of the gallery.
119 stairs up to the Stone gallery (378 stairs from the ground) where one can
see a nice view of the city - but the best view is up -
152 stairs up to the Golden Gallery (530 stairs from the ground - 280
meters) which is very narrow and windy - but the view is amazing -
especially if the sun comes out - which it did.
The stairs are vary narrow to climb.
In the Crypt is the burial site of Wren, and the Duke of Wellington who defeated Napoleon in Trafalgar.
Inside the crypt there is a nice shop, and a nice cafe - where launch is cheep and tasty.
As it was Christmas Eve - the church closed early - so I went to Covent Garden.
Links: St. Paul's
Start: Tower Hill Tube (Circle or District Line).
End: St. Paul's Tube (Central Line).
