Back to the London adventures!

While there were countless highlights and memories, my absolute favorite spot of the whole trip thus far was experiencing St. Paul’s Cathedral, a stunning masterpiece like many cathedrals in size, history and beauty. The Cathedral Floor, the Crypt and Galleries are breathtaking. Walking through the Cathedral Floor and the Crypt is chilling, just to think of the history, the wonder, the spirit within the walls.

I had heard rumors of climbing the many stairs to top of the dome, so we had to see it for ourselves. Around what felt like giant, circling stairs, slowly but surely working your way up to the top, 257 steps later you find yourself in the Whispering Gallery. A circular rim above the Cathedral Floor, we saw signs showing if you have one person straight across from you and they whisper into the wall, you will hear the whisper. We had our chance, and with the hairs on the back of our neck raised, we were able to talk back and forth through the walls. Continuing 120 more steps, we reached the Stone Gallery, outdoors on the building overlooking the city. After the brief pause in awe out over the beautiful day, we continued upward for the last 150 steps to the top of the Golden Gallery. Now I have to say, my knees started to buckle a bit, and I refused to look down while grasping those last stairs up, but the view was absolutely worth it — a grand total of 528 steps or 85 meters above the Cathedral Floor overlooking the beauty of London.

We spent most of our day at St. Paul’s Cathedral before heading to Covent Garden for lunch and street music entertainment. Then we snagged some proper English tea at a local coffee shop called The Observatory. While several of us were trying to decide what to order, it could not have been more obvious that we were tourists. The owner stepped through and offered to teach us how to have a proper tea time on the patio.

The next day, we all got up ready to go for the next adventure: the Tower of London. While the history is impeccable, the touring around was phenomenal. Whether you stop at the Crown Jewels first or last, they are quite exquisite. The Royal Beast area enlightened me on the history of the various animals and “beasts” kept in the walls of the Tower. We could have spent hours here, amazed at the historic landmark and stories, but alas, it was time for lunch.

Right across the street we stumbled upon a restaurant called Wagamama, Asian fusion cuisine. A tasty Pad Thai called my name with a green tea to finish.

That evening we met as a group at the Founder’s Arms for dinner right before a play at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. We bought tickets (around $5) to stand in front of the stage at eye-level and viewed As You Like It.

— Lexi Holstin, digital account executive