After lunch Dad and I left Jules and Mom to do some shopping while we wandered around the area. We had intended on touring St. Paul's Cathedral, but it wasn't open for sightseeing so we continued on to the Temple area, where the city's courts and law offices are found. Here is a picture of the famous Central Criminal Court, better known as Old Bailey.
The Temple Bar stands at the point where Fleet Street becomes the Strand, and is the dividing line between the City of Westminster and the City of London. The statue on the top looks like a dragon, but it's actually a griffin.
And here we have the magnificent Royal Courts of Justice, which look more like a fairytale castle than a courthouse.
We then meandered our way through the Inner Temple to Temple Church, which was built by the Knights Templar in the twelfth century. Buried in the large circular nave are eight former Masters of the Temple, including some Templars.
After a drink in a local pub we went on a walking tour of the Blackfriars area, where a priory of the Dominican Friars (Black Friars) once stood. The highlight of the tour was this old cemetery, which has now been incorporated into the courtyard of an apartment complex.
By chance we happened upon this observation platform, from which we got a fabulous view of St. Paul's. Our afternoon ended with a lovely organ recital at the Cathedral, and I will say this: wow does Bach ever sound good in an acoustic space like that one.
After the recital we walked across the Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian bridge built in 2000. Here you can see the modern recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. We ended the day with dinner at the Black Friar, which is supposedly the most ornately decorated pub in the city.
GWV
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