【倫敦】St. Paul's－il Giardino Romantico

Remember what I said in the article on Bath Abbey Tower Climb? That an even bigger challenge awaited me? This was it! St. Paul's 500+ steps to the top of the tower!

還記得我在巴斯修道院攀爬塔樓一文中提到說之後還會有更具挑戰的經驗等著我嗎？就是這裡！超過五百層階梯的塔樓攀爬！

Before I continue, however, I'd like to once again re-introduce you the glitch in my old Nikon camera. See that mark on the right hand side of the Cathedral? Yes. It would appear whenever I zoom in. I was so afraid it might fail on me before my trip ended, because I didn't have enough budget to buy a new one! Fortunately, it really did just appear only when I zoom in.

在我進入正題之前，我想先重新介紹一下我舊的Nikon相機的缺點。有沒有看到聖保羅教堂右手邊的那條槓？只要我調整焦距，他就會跑出來。當時本來很擔心他會在我完成旅程之前就報銷（因為當時沒預算買新的）還好後來有撐完！

Now, St Paul's is an Anglican Cathedral, built in 1677, designed by Christopher Wren. The dome remains one of the tallest in the world.

聖保羅教堂是英國國教教堂。建於1677年，是由Christopher Wren所設計。至今聖保羅的穹頂仍然是世界上最高的穹頂之一！

Queen Victoria 維多利亞女王

"HERE QUEEN VICTORIA RETURNED THANKS TO ALMIGHTY GOD FOR THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY
OF HER ACCESSION - JUNE 22 AD 1879"
維多利亞女王登基六十年回到此地回報上帝的恩典（我亂翻的）

Crowded entrance, but didn't seem crowded at all inside. It's THAT big!
外頭看起來擠滿了人，不過進去發現根本不擁擠。可見他有多龐大！

Unfortunately, you'll have to come yourself to see the inside of this impressive cathedral, as photography was prohibited. I will, however, show you something even better.

不過很不幸裡投不能拍照，所以想看到裡面華麗的裝飾，你得親自跑一趟了！但我會與你分享更好的！

View of London from the dome! (That can't be the Eiffel Tower, can it?)
穹頂上俯瞰倫敦！（遠方那該不會是巴黎鐵塔吧！？！？！）

Cold feet from the height...
太高了腿都軟了...

Millennium Bridge 千喜橋

London Eye 倫敦之眼

Winding staircase. 螺旋狀階梯

A treat for myself, and there's a story to this. 犒賞自己的。這又是另外一個故事了...

I was dying for a treat after the tower climb, so I came to the tea shop, hoping to find a good deal on scones and tea. I asked a Polish lady - does the 'afternoon tea come with scone?' The lady replied 'Yes, is that what you want?' I nodded, expecting to pay a certain amount of money, only to find that when she ushered me to the Asian cashier lady, she charged me extra for the scone. I didn't think it was right, but I still paid. However, right after I put down my plate, I went straight back to her and said the Polish girl said it was another price. She wouldn't listen, so I asked for the manager. After scoffing me a bit, she still got the manager for me. He listened, and succumbed to my demand in returning the extra money I had not expected to pay for the scones. Ah! Memory!

當我從塔樓下來時可是又餓又渴。想說來teashop覓食，看到了優惠價格但我有先詢問波蘭籍的服務員『上頭寫的下午茶價格是有包含scone嗎？』他回「是的！這是你要的嗎？」我點頭後他開始幫我準備我的食物。但結帳時，那位亞洲店員卻要求我多付scone的錢。我想一想不太合理，因為我有『確認』過有沒有包含，得到的回覆也是肯定的！但他拒絕與我溝通。我結帳後先把食物放到桌上馬上又回去收銀台。小姐還是不肯聽我說，我只好請他叫經理出來跟我談。在他嘗試嘲笑我之後最終經理還是出現了。他聽我說完馬上二話不說就把我認為我不該付的錢還來給我！真是一段難忘的記憶啊！（奧客做到英國去！）

And, I must also state, that it was outside St Paul's, on one of the benches, that I had so stupidly left the free poster I got from The Globe.......

最後我更要說，之前我說我弄丟的免費海報，就是在聖保羅教堂外的某個長椅上............

檢視較大的地圖