St. Paul's Cathedral

Today we went on a Supertour of St. Paul's Cathedral with our tour guide Chris. It was very informative, and we learned about the history of the site (there were 2 churches there BEFORE St. Paul's was built) as well as some of the intricate mosaic work inside.

After the tour, most of the group still had a lot of energy, and we climbed the many, many steps up the dome to the top. The views of London were spectacular, and the weather today was ideal.

We have an extended weekend, but we'll pick up with visits to Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament next week.

Hampton Court - Once the home of Henry VIII

Here are some pictures from inside Hampton Court. The curved brick work is fascinating, and unlike anything I've ever seen before. I found a kitty cat (I'll call her Gracie) :) Tomorrow it's on to St. Paul's Cathedral. The weather has cooperated very nicely.

Monday and Tuesday Activities

On Monday we had our second art class at the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, located in the Somerset House. The Courtauld is a small museum, but its selection is outstanding, with works by many of the major Impressionists and post-Impressionists.

http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/index.html

Today (Tuesday) we visited another one of my favorite museums, the British Library, and had a guided tour of the Sacred Text exhibition, featuring important religious texts from Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Some of the Bibles were written in gold!

http://www.bl.uk/index.shtml

Tomorrow, it's on to Hampton Court, once the home for Henry VIII. Cheers! JP

The first free day for the group

We've been together every day since we left, and this is the first day where nothing is planned. People are free to do what they choose. I went to Canterbury on a National Express bus, which took about 2 hours each way. The price was hard to beat -- a scant 12.40 pounds return (oops, that means round-trip for you Yanks across the Pond).

Here are some pics from Canterbury.

JP

Borough Market

True to form, the Borough Market was very enjoyable. The food stalls had all kinds of items -- amazing breads, fruit, vegetables, jams, seafood, meats, cheeses, ... You name it and it was there. I forgot my camera, but I hope to get some pics from folks who were there. I am including another picture from Cambridge, taken by Megan K. Thanks!

Saturday at the Market

Cambridge was a nice, relaxing day. It felt nice to get out of the hussle and bustle of London, at least for a day. The countryside reminded some of us of, well, Iowa!

Markets are a great way to feel the pulse of a city, and London has some truly spectacular ones. My favorite hands down is the Borough Market, a massive collection of vendors specializing in almost every fine food item imaginable. I want to get people to see what wonderful things are available in places besides traditional grocery stores. Some things are ridiculously expensive, but much is surprisingly affordable.

The Borough Market has its own Web page at:

http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

Take a look and you'll see what I mean.

JP

More Cambridge