After that was completed, we headed into the city to St Paul's Church of England Cathedral, which sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, which was founded in AD 604; the current church, designed in the English Baroque style by Christopher Wren, dates to the late 17th century. Construction was completed within Wren's lifetime (which is pretty good going for a cathedral, when you look at the track-record of such large churches); it was part of a major rebuilding programme that took place in the city after the Great Fire of London.
The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London, with its dome, framed by the spires of Wren's City churches, dominating the skyline for 300 years. At 111 metres (365 geet) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world. In terms of area, St Paul's is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.
After we descended the 528 steps back down to the ground, we headed across the river to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a faithful reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe in Southwark on the south bank of the River Thames.
The original theatre was built in 1599, destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and then finally demolished by the Puritans in 1644 - they didn't approve of things like the theatre, as it would clearly lead to the moral bankruptcy of, well, just about everyone.
With tours running every 20 minutes or so, we were able to join one soon after we arrived. This proved an excellent tour lasting roughly an hour, taken by one of the actors from the theatre's own company; Mike (a true Cockney) explained the history of this theatre as well as the original one, and the functioning of the theatre as it stands today.
After the tour was completed, we headed in to Westminster Abbey - unfortunately, once again photos not allowed inside, and it was just too difficult to get a decent shot of the outside.
We took the self-guided audio tour, which is included in the entry price (which is pretty steep at 18 pounds each - but it may be a long time before we're back). The tour takes you around the abbey in a very logical and easy-to-follow structure, with very interesting information about the abbey and its various areas. Overall, this tour took us around 45 minutes, covering the abbey, and the cloister with the chapter house.
Kim then took me on a bit of a tour of London, visiting some of the areas that she knew when she lived here some 20 years ago! On our way from Leicester Square to Trafalgar Square, we stopped by for a wander through the National Portrait Museum - it's nice to be somewhere where many of the galleries and museums are free to enter, as you really can just pop in for a short while, and not feel that you are not "getting your money worth."
Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster in the area previously known as Charing Cross, is of course, a commemoration of the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars over France and Spain which took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar, Spain.
At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of commemorative statues and sculptures in the square, while one plinth, left empty since it was built in 1840, The Fourth Plinth, has been host to contemporary art since 1999. The square is also used for political demonstrations and community gatherings.