The Monument...

The City of London sits within the city London - a separate city whose boundaries have not changed since the Medieval days.  

During the working week, the city is abuzz with the sound of polished shoes shuffling from tube to office, crunching numbers and keeping the cogs of our great nation turning (or be it driving us further into economic meltdown - but let's not go there). Come Friday night, the first of the Essex girls jump off the train and take position at the nearest bar, hair extended, tan darkened and nails sharpened with the sole aim of securing a rich husband. Shortly joined by bankers patting each other on their backs.

But on Saturday the entire city turns into a ghost town - even the shops don't open! This city is guarded by dragons, you'll find one at every street leading in.

Personally, I think this is the best time to visit. Start at Borough food market and pick up some lunch (try the wild boar burger and a shot of wheat grass juice). Once done sampling the cheese, olives and brownies, stroll over the river and into the city.

Tower bridge - in 1831 an American business man, Robert McCulloch bought London Bridge, believing it to be Tower Bridge and had it shipped over and reconstructed brick by brick over a river leading to a real estate park. McCulloch later claimed he knew which bridge he was buying all along...likely story!

Just off one of the main roads in the city lies a hidden church. The church in question is St Dunstan in the East. The church, originally built in 1100 and with various additions over the centuries, survived numerous King's and Queen, economic challenges and even the great fire of London (albeit with some patching up) but unfortunately fell victim to Hitler's relentless bombing during world war II.

After the war, it was decided to turn the church into a garden. Right there in the middle of one of the busiest parts of one of the busiest cities in the world, lies this little piece of tranquillity. 

It's completely free and almost always empty (or maybe I've just been lucky?). Inside you'll find a couple of wooden benches and a little fountain. 

Once you've recovered from the working week, it's time to take in one of London's lesser known tourist attractions. Forget Buckingham Palace, Monument is where it's at!

Built to commemorate the Great Fire of London and designed by the genius, Christopher Wren, who is also responsible for the design of the Greenwich hospital, numerous churches and most famously of all, St Paul's Cathedral.

Speaking of St Paul's - after the Great Fire, Christopher Wren walked amongst the debris of the earlier cathedral and found a Latin inscription carved into a stone. He built the stone back into the current cathedral underneath a phoenix. The inscription read 'I will rise again'.

 Any way, back to the monument. The great fire started in a bakery in Pudding Lane - I love this fact. The monument is 202 ft tall and exactly 202 ft away from the location where the fire started.

Most Londoners have absolutely no idea that you can go inside and climb the 311 steps to reach a pretty impressive view of London. 

Originally they had hoped to use the inside of the monument to conduct gravity and pendulum experiments, with a laboratory built right into the foundations - unfortunately the vibrations of the horse and carts being pulled around outside meant all experiments were unusable.

It's only 311 steps but the spiral never seems to end!

After an expensive renovation, you can walk around the top of the monument inside a protective cage - you feel a little like you're in a bird cage.

Once you've circled your way back down, they even give you a certificate for your climbing efforts!

 

Once done, find yourself a old school London pub and reward yourself with a local pint!