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| St Paul's Cathedral from One New Change |
So on Sunday, after having breakfast, my friend and I took the tube down to Greenwich. Another LSE student had recommended trying out the Emirates Air Line over the River Thames, which is a line of gondolas (kind of like one of the enclosed glass ski lifts) that starts in North Greenwich next to the O2 Arena and passes over the River Thames. I've seen the Thames from all kinds of angles now: the central part of the river (Houses of Parliament and such) from the London Eye, the eastern half that passes through London from the riverboat cruise, and now the Greenwich area from the Emirates Air Line. This latest trip afforded great views of Canary Wharf, the O2 Arena, and the very windy bit of the Thames that lies to the east of central London.
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| View of the O2 Arena and Canary Wharf from the Emirates Air Line |
Both sides of the river around the Emirates Air Line felt a little more like Dubai than London! They were very clean, new, and modernly sculpted areas, with luxury shops and uber-modern architecture. A large proportion of the people who were there sightseeing were Arab, and the food being sold was predominantly Middle Eastern; like I said, it kind of felt like I was in the UAE. It was very interesting and different than I would have expected in London.
After our ride, my friend and I stopped at Canary Wharf, which was one of our stops one the way back to Holborn. Because it was a weekend (and August, when many Europeans are on holiday), it was pretty desolate. It was very different than I expected. Since it's on the other side of the river and a little further out of town, I didn't think Canary Wharf would be brand-new, sparkling clean, and made up of glittering skyscrapers, quays, gardens, and plazas full of luxury shops, cafes, and restaurants. It was really impressive. The tallest buildings belonged to the big banks, Citi and JP Morgan and such. The lower levels of these skyscrapers had shops and restaurants, and were oriented along the edges of the quays and around central gardens and plazas. Like I said, it was quite empty (except for some other tourists and diners), so we were able to walk around and see the buildings easily. I was very impressed - and it was strange to think there's a chance that perhaps, one day, if I'm extraordinarily lucky, I may have the opportunity work there....
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| Canary Wharf |
Anyway, Monday was spent in class and studying, of course, though I had a very late afternoon tea at Patisserie Valerie in Knightsbridge. On Tuesday, I woke up early and took the tube to St Paul's Cathedral before my 11:00 class. I wish I had more time to spent at the cathedral (especially after spending £13 on admission!), but it was absolutely stunning. The walls and columns were white marble, along with the many, many statues that were set into the aisles and transepts. Some of the monuments along the aisles were black stone, and the ceiling and arches were beautiful, many-coloured mosaics. I thought the white of the walls and pillars only made the ceilings more beautiful. There were hundreds of chairs set around the church, and even early in the morning, there were already many people there visiting, on tours, praying...
I've visited my fair share of churches and cathedrals in my life, most of them Catholic, and this one was different than I expected in that almost none of the statues set along the aisles, transepts, and in grottos were religious. They were all memorials to military heroes who had died during their service. They were beautiful and interesting (many of them were life-sized depictions of a particular man as he was dying in battle, on his horse or at sea, but being caught by angels as he fell). Still, it was strange to see very few religious statues in a church, especially when I'm used to seeing innumerable murals and stained glass windows and statues and mosaics of saints, angels, and the Holy Family in Catholic churches. It was quite tranquil and humbling in a different way.
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