Climbing to the top
- Jul 7, 2014
- 3 min read
Good thing I am not afraid of heights – well at least I am not afraid of stable, high structures.
Friday and Saturday were filled with climbing stone stairs, and while my knees wanted to kill me, the views were worth it.
Friday CAPA took us to St. Paul’s Cathedral to explore. Since everyone else had work, Scott and I made the trek to CAPA, watched a quick architecture presentation and then headed to St. Paul’s.
Many cathedrals have stood on the spot that houses the current St. Paul’s, however the current structure was completed in 1710.
During WWI and WWII firefighters stood watch of the cathedral 24/7, making sure that no bombs destroyed the building. It was thought that if St. Paul’s were to fall, so would London. Thankfully the cathedral survived (and the city of London) and I got to explore. Ornate gold scenes of Christ and biblical messages decorated the ceiling and were easily the most ornate pieces of architecture/art I have ever seen. There are three levels to get to the top of the dome; the whispering gallery, the stone gallery and the golden gallery.
First stop: the whispering gallery, 257 steps from the ground floor. Supposedly at the whispering gallery you can sit on one side, whisper into the wall and someone sitting directly across from you can hear what you said. I tried; it didn’t work. I think the fact that there were probably 30 other people doing the same thing at the same time may have had an impact.
The stone gallery, 376 steps from the ground, was outside and we were able to take pictures of the views of the city. There was quite a bit of room to wander around and take in the city from a complete 360 view.
One hundred fifty two more steps took us to the top: the golden gallery. Much like the stone gallery, we were able to walk around the dome completely but this time it was a little tight. A combination of too many people and a small area to stand were not my favorite part of the day. But after the short walk around the top and an improved view from the stone gallery, pictures were taken and the descent began.
Five hundred twenty eight steps later, I was back on the ground. For you math whizzes out there, I climbed a total of 1056 stairs just up and down. Whew. (Did I mention these were all spiral staircases, sometimes stone, sometimes iron that were very narrow?)
Saturday the girls decided to take a bus trip and explore Oxford. I honestly can’t imagine going to school there. It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but I could not for the life of me decipher what building was what. Where did they have class? In class Thursday we met an MU grad who attended Oxford for grad school who said that class was more like meeting with a professor every week to go over a paper you had written. I can understand that because I don’t know where any classes like I am used to would be held. Oddly, it was much more touristy than we anticipated. Yes, we were tourists too, exploring the area but none of us thought there would be tons of others there doing the same thing.
After wandering around for a little while we found a tower, the Carfax Tower, and headed over to check it out. Little did I know that more spiral stairs were in my future. Although it was nowhere near as high as St. Paul’s those 99 steps to the top were a douse, especially since I hadn’t fully recovered from Friday. Again, the view made it all worth it. There is something about looking out at a city from above it that makes it all the more magnificent. You get to see so many things and put together an image of the city as a whole rather than just the pieces you see on the ground.
Afterwards, we found a little café, got some lunch and headed to a park to enjoy. It was a particularly hot day and we spread out under a weeping willow and took a break. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around town, attempting to see some of the Harry Potter sites and shopping. Unfortunately, neither was successful.
Things I will would really love my mom to bring with her:
- Panera
- A brownie
- A slush from Sonic
- My dad's Spaghetti
- Some Amish strawberries
- My bed
- My dogs (LOL this would never happen. In a million years.)
And of course I miss everyone at home but plane tickets are a little pricey.
Cheers, Abby
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