Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you

Good morning London!
Apparently Mother Nature forgot to send London the memo that June is summertime.  It's been rainy, and downright chilly every day!  Armed with our rain jackets and umbrellas we went in search of juice for breakfast.  We were led to Crussh.  I had a delicious green goddess juice with Kale, cucumber, celery, apple, and lemon.  Rusty couldn't get past the cucumber :)  
After our invigorating and energizing breakfast we set off for St. Paul's Cathedral.  I have seen numerous pictures of St Paul's and studied it in art history in high school, but nothing prepared me for the massive and marvelous site that is St. Paul's.  I was literally struck speechless.  And come on, we all know that doesn't happen often.What a spectacular building. My awe continued as we walked inside and stared up into the dome.  Pictures aren't allowed inside the churches in London, so you'll just have to use your imagination.  The beautiful high ceilings, huge windows letting in pure light, and the relatively simple decor (well, at least in the first part of the church) made this my favorite church we visited on the trip. Christopher Wren is truly a master of architecture.  A plaque on the floor reads something like, "If you seek his monument, just look around you."  What a fitting tribute.  My favorite part was the American Chapel.  The stained glass windows have symbols from all 50 states and were made to thank American soldiers for helping defend London during WWII. We climbed all 528 stairs, past the Whispering Gallery (which didn't work for us) all the way to the tippy top of the dome. Right before you reach the top there is a little pane of glass in the floor and you can look all the way down to the cathedral floor. It was really cool. 
  The views at the top were incredible.  We could see gloomy London in all her glory.  Going back down the winding stairs made me quite dizzy.  I had to unwind in the opposite direction once I reached the bottom.  


Next on the agenda, Shakespeare's Globe Theater.  It was the premeir theater of its day, but was burned down only a few years after it was built by actors who fired a cannon during a play and a spark caught the thatched roof on fire.  It was fun to see all the Elizabethean costumes, and see how much of our popular culture today stems from Shakespeare.  Actors were rehearsing McBeth on the stage and it was interesting to see them at work. 
Per usual, we were starving, and went in search of a little grilled cheese street cart that Rusty had heard good things about.  Imagine our good luck to stumble right into Borough Market.  This ended up being one of our very favorite things in London.  Street food galore!  There was everything from $1000 truffles to $5 falafel.  We did locate the grilled cheese and it's safe to say it was the greatest grilled cheese ever.  The bread was crusty and tasty, and the cheese plentiful. There were also onions sprinkled inside.  It was all put in a press so the cheese leaked out and got all toasty around the edges.  Delicious.  Then it was time to catch the EuroStar to Paris!