It's 6:30am and I'm off to Sunbury Antiques Market at Kempton Park. I was exhausted last night so Joe offered to take a stab at writing today's post about our day at the Tate and St. Paul's. I love the way he writes but I'm also sharing it at the risk of making my style (and possibly grammar) look really bad!

I can't wait to share my Sunbury finds with you!

This weekend we stayed local, but it was certainly no stay-cation. London, like Los Angeles, has so much to do that you can't possibly cover it all in a weekend, or week, or year, but at least here there is public transport which makes hitting a few city destinations in a day or two fairly easy. But still, be ready to be overwhelmed...

First, the Tate Modern. Housed in a massive former power plant that must have once juiced the entire electrified planet, the Tate Modern is no less than a full-body experience. It swallowed us in, chewed us up, and spit us out after the half-tour. We were beat. After a few hours appreciating the masterworks here, just looking at Miro's "Ladder" paintings made us cringe and think 'ugh..ladder..climbing..let's get out of here'.

We tumbled out of the Tate to the River Thames, Millennium Bridge, and the looming landmark St. Paul's Cathedral, all three massive, imposing, and no less impressive than the museum. Ironic though...the river has been here for millennia, and the footbridge for just a few years. The Cathedral has dominated the City of London skyline for a few hundred years, but will soon be eclipsed by the nearby modern glass pyramid to be called "The Shard", an architect's homage to broken glass, erected of mostly glass. Get it? It'll be the tallest building in Europe, so you'll see it in the next Bond film or in a renegade base-jumping stunt soon.

The Sunday bells at the cathedral were in full-swing, and afternoon service was about to begin, so no photos inside were allowed. Look it up.

After a stroll around the hallowed ground, we crossed the street to One New Change, another modern development in the City of London. A multi-purpose commercial property, One New Change is a beautiful blend of indoor and outdoor space, glossy glass and CorTen patina. Look for the nail; this new landmark piece of public art is a massive steel spike in the shape of a framing nail which seems driven into the concrete pavement between One New Change and the Cathedral. There's probably not a real nail in service in either the steel-and-glass modern galleria and the giant stone church, yet this sculpture seems to fit the neighborhood. It's driven deep, and not going anywhere soon.

All this within sight of the St. Paul's tube station on the Central Line. Wear yourself out, and let TFL drive you home.