Even on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, I still feel connected to home. Out in Trafalgar Square, not only were there people from all over the world speaking so many different languages, but there was a man drawing the different flags of the world. Every so often, people would step up and without saying a word, place a coin on their country's flag. The man in turn would not say anything back, but go on with his drawings, a huge smile lighting his face. All along the path outside of the National Portrait Gallery, there are performers and artists drawing in chalk. It was almost as if the creativity and art inside of the museum leaked out onto the sidewalk outside. |
Here is Westminster Abbey. This is where grand monarchs have gone for years to get married, for power as well as for love. It is one of the grandest cathedrals I have ever seen. Standing next to it made me feel so small yet very important all at the same time. I wonder what it would be like to stand in that great round window and look down on the world. I like to think that it would feel like looking through the eye of God Himself. Unfortunately, we didn't go inside, but just seeing the amazing structure from the outside was enough in my opinion. Just out of frame of this photo, is Big Ben. According to Professor Chopan, "Big Ben" is not the clocktower itself, but the bell housed within it. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Big Ben, the bell or the clocktower, because it is all covered by tarps and scaffolding for renovations, and it will be for the next two years or so. |
This is the exterior of King's Cross Station, where the famous Platform 9 3/4 has its home. It was made famous by J. K. Rowling and her Harry Potter books, but if I am being honest, I feel as though the "Platform" itself was more or less disappointing. Not only was it not between Platforms 9 and 10, but it was little more than a wall with a line in front of it for pictures accompanied by a gift shop. What was magical was the way that something as simple as words on a page can bring so many people from all over the world together. The line to stop and take a picture with the wall coiled around itself several times over. The people waiting were not just children, but parents who had read the book to their children, and adults who had grown up reading the books and come halfway around the world just to see a wall with a sign on it. That was what was magical to me. |
It would seem that now I really do know what its like to see though the eye of God. Today we went to Saint Paul's Cathedral and I sat in on the afternoon Eucharist. Now, I can say that I have taken communion at Saint Paul's Cathedral, something that very few Catholics can say. It was an amazing experience, I have to say, but I wish that my mother had been with me to experience it. After the Eucharist concluded, we climbed all the way to the top of the Cathedral. It was a harrowing experience for me, and I am not even afraid of heights. I can only imagine what it would have been like had I been afraid of heights before going in. Up and up and up the stairs went. To the Whisper Gallery, housed in the dome of the building, where you can whisper into the walls and someone on the opposite side of the room can hear you. We continued the climb and made it all the way to the top of the Cathedral. The view was breathtaking. We were so high up that some of the tall buildings, like the Shard, were shrouded in clouds at the top. The river cutting through the picture is the Thames, by the way. |
Our final market, and probably my favorite in terms of aesthetic. Not only were the buildings remarkable with their sculptures on the outside, but the people were amazing as well. I walked into a rock and roll store to find a shirt for my friend, and the owners were all decked out in the punk rock style. Something that I noticed across all the markets in London is the fact that the people selling products seem to care very much about what they are selling and be incredibly knowledgable about what they are selling. Also, American restaurants (like the KFC seen in the left) are different in London. McDonalds has a complete vegetarian menu and Skittles have entirely different flavors here, too. There are so many small things that seem perfectly normal and everyday to us, but when they are changed even in the slightest, we notice and are fascinated by it. |