Stairway(s) to Heaven - St. Paul's Cathedral

Yes, there are two paths you can go by

But in the long run

There's still time to change the road you're on

And it makes me wonder

Your head is humming and it won't go

In case you don't know

The piper's calling you to join him

Dear lady can you hear the wind blow

And did you know

Your stairway lies on the whispering wind

-Led Zeppelin (Song with Lyrics here)

To summarize my experience at St. Paul's Cathedral succinctly would be rather difficult; there was so much there that struck me with a sense of awe. The grandeur of the interior was too much to handle at some points. However, after reviewing the notes that I took at the Cathedral, I have come up with two words that best describe my experience: "scale" and "scope".

The exterior of St. Paul's Cathedral, seen from the rear

A Panorama shot of the Front of St. Paul's

Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the Cathedral, so I'll be posting pictures from external sources of my favorite parts of the Cathedral.

The nave of St. Paul's Cathedral, looking towards the choir

(Source here)

View of the upper Dome from the Cathedral Floor. The Mural painted on the

ceiling depicts eight scenes from the life of St. Paul.

(Source here)

Not even ten minutes after arriving, we began the dizzying ascent to the highest point in the Cathedral. On our way there we stopped at the Whispering Gallery, the famous circular roundabout within the inner dome. Looking down at the Cathedral Floor, I was filled with an overwhelming sense of scale: we were dwarfed by the Cathedral. There were far too many amazing views from the Whispering Gallery, so I'd suggest a quick Google search of "whispering gallery st pauls" to get an idea of what it was we were looking at it.

Climbing higher, we reached the Stone Gallery, which was a welcome break from all the stairs.

Katelyn, Ke, Dr. Chalk and myself at the stone gallery. 

I forgot the joke that was told, but it was funny.

After a long, vertigo-inducing climb up countless spiral staircases, we reached it: The Golden Gallery. And, oh, was it golden. We got a complete, 360-degree view of the city of London. It was perfect. The setting sun, shining through the overcast sky, created a mystic atmosphere. Although we felt tiny in the scope of the city, we felt like kings.

To conclude, my experience at St. Paul's was nothing short of magical. It made me all the more excited to finally visit Westminster Abbey.

-Greg