Class Trip: London

Professor McCullough, Stacy and I met at 10:30am in London.

We went to the National Gallery and saw painting of English landscapes.

Then to the National Portrait Gallery, around the corner, where we saw portraits of Charles I and Charles II, their wives, members of Tory and Whigs political parties and other people related to the restoration period. Both museums have free admission.

We went to Sever House, a dwelling built in the 1750’s and refurnished to capture the way silk merchants lived during that time.

We went to St. Olaf’s church, Samuel Pepys’ parish and saw statues of him and his wife. From the church we could see the steeple Pepys climbed to see the Fire of London in 1666

Had quick lunch at a small park where Pepys naval office used to be located.

Stopped by a St. Aldermary Church which was built by Wren before he built St. Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London.

The Temple Gate with statues of Charles I and Charles II welcoming the return of monarchy.

There are 434 steps to reach the very top of St. Paul’s Cathedral. On the way up, one can see the inner layers of the structure and even some places where the cathedral was damaged during the Second World War. There is a peeping hole on the very top, from which one can look down to the center and get an idea of the height of the structure. The cathedral is approximately 90% Wren’s design, the other 10% are colorful Victorian mosaic hat was added years after.

Stacy and I had wine and tapas at Healden Market and took the coach home afterwards.