Saturday I continued the exploration of London and its many traditions. Taylor, Jordan, and I ventured around the entire Tower of London complex as a part of an NYU London programming event.
It was another cold day, semi-rainy/semi-sunny. We are starting to get colder weather over here so the sun peeking through the clouds is becoming an even rarer occurrence.
Jordan and Taylor. Two wonderful people and two great explorers!
We started off by taking a Yeoman tour around the major areas. (See bottom left.) He provided us with lots of historical information and plenty of cheap, but hilarious jokes.
The Tower of London is where the Kings used to live and where prisoners would be held and tortured before heading to their execution on Tower Hill - a short distance from the tower itself. It is now a tourist attraction, home of the crown jewels when not being used, a bunch of little museums, two small chapels, and home to many of the Yeomen themselves (i.e. our tourguide).
This is the center building that now holds lots of armour and weapons from the past.
It also has wonderful views of the Tower Bridge!
Home of the Crown Jewels.
It was cold AND sunny. Hence the need for both the earmuffs and sunglasses.
London lesson one: always be prepared!
I couldn't take pictures inside, but take my word for it: THEY WERE STUNNING!!!!! I just wanted to hold one of those crowns. Could you imagine wearing one of those on your head?!
So many medals.
It's a bit creepy sitting in between these two tyrants.
Happy happy girl.
This sword was so tall! I couldn't even imagine trying to use it without falling over.
How ornate!
Effigies of soldiers and their horses.
Have you ever seen armour so small?
Jordan gazing upon a dragon.
Executioner's axe...scary right?
I would not want to be staring back at that mask, that's for sure!
Model layout of the entire original Tower of London.
Entering the gift shop which used to be the torture chamber. I'm sure there's some sort of ironic message there...
Also, I was trying to imitate the pose this knight is making. It struck me as odd or atypical, but I don't mind it! Maybe he's just trying to dance :)
Taylor's dragon friend returns!
Me and the Queen
And in the tradition of Halloween we ended our tour viewing the torture devices:
That looks quite uncomfortable. I'm sure it was!
The stretcher.
Quite a few people take these Yeoman tours every half hour.
Entirety of Tower of London from the front.
Love this photo. London past and present. On top of Tower Hill.
Then we walked across Tower Bridge, which I had yet to do.
And we passed London Bridge (which is not the same as Tower Bridge, pictured above).
We then continued to walk all the way along the Southbank side of the Thames River exploring anything and everything that sparked our interest. We came across some cool alleyways, a delicious marketplace, some roasted peanuts, and plenty of bridges. We walked all the way home and my feet were quite sore by the end. But walking is one of the best ways to explore London. Just like any city, you come across something new every time you step outside. That's what's so exciting; it's always changing and always surprising you!
I always feel so accomplished after a full day of exploration. And that's exactly what Saturday was, exploration at its finest - full of spontaneity, laughter, and plenty of learning.
It's like I can feel myself getting more cultured by the day. I'm 'towering up'.
Cheers!
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