Some church, some art, some music

Yesterday I stopped by St. Paul's cathedral for some little touristy goodness. It was 9.50 to get in which I thought was pretty steep, but when I heard you could climb to the top of the dome I had to go. 500ish steps later, I was positioned on a walkway towards the top of the dome, gazing out over all of London. Not exactly the view from Il Duomo in Florence, but still pretty awesome.




Here are a few shots from outside/inside the church:

(Inside the dome)

(I found it quite odd instead of sculpting a portrait of victory in life on tombs to commemorate the deceased, the Brits sculpted heroic death scenes. As if the greatest victory in life was to die nobly. Hmm...the culture has quite a grim heritage.)

I had climbed to the top, so I decided to investigate the crypt as well. So creepy. Doesn't help that the statues on the tombs were decaying just like the bodies inside...

(There was a plaque by one of the tombs that read something like: "A British man is expected to give his all." Again, very grim.)

From St. Paul's I headed over to the Tate Modern Museum of Art. After about half an hour trying to find the entrance (the building's layout is pretty confusing!) I finally got to the art. There's some pretty incredible stuff here! Picasso, a Monet, a room full of Andy Warhol pink cows, and a great Jackson Pollock (speaking of Pollock, I just ran across a website that refers to him as "Jack the Dripper"...art puns...). There were signs against taking pictures, but I had to sneak out my camera for a few towards the end. I later realized that the rule was not enforced when a bunch of school kids started snapping pics right in front of a guard and nothing happened...

(Because sometimes picking out an outfit in the morning can be overwhelming...wish I could remember who did this and the one below. They made me smile.)

(Hippie/camping/clown car?!?!)

(Great Rauschenberg...wish the picture wasn't so blurry...)

It was scorching hot by 5ish when I got home but lemonade and a best songs ever playlist made for a great afternoon. Some of my picks: In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry, Fast Life by Bad Boy Bill, Don't Stop Believin, Sexy Bitch, Mr. Brightside by the Killers, Just Dance remix by Tony Arzadon, Heartbreaker by MSTRKRFT, and Even if it Breaks Your Heart by Will Hoge. Pretty all over the place, but SO good. :)