May 31 -- The Tower of London

Slept in 'til just before 9 this morning. I was the last one up. Yeah for me. The day was pretty much layer out when I got downstairs. Going to the Tower of London. Got the tickets online and saved £1.10  on each ticket. Also there are discounts for seniors at most of the venues in London. If you are over 60 you should check on it. Save £4 on each ticket for the four seniors.

We did the one hour tour with one of the Beef Eaters, the queen's guard. Got some lunch. The ladies went in to see the crown jewels, they are really impressive, and Ed and I went into the White Tower. The White Tower was the first structure erected on the site by William I (Conqueror) begun in 1078. This structure and the rest of the buildings and fortifications were the home of the King and Queen of England for almost 500 years. It is no longer a Royal Residence but it is still on the list though no longer maintained as one. The White Tower is now a museum of armor and weaponry from the 11th to 19th centuries. Very interesting exhibits but very crowded. The Crown Jewels are still used for special occasions and coronations so sometimes they are not in the Tower of London. (Also see March 9, 2009 post)

From the Tower we walked along the Thames taking pictures and finally arriving at the Tower Bridge. This bridge is quite famous and is often thought to be London Bridge. London Bridge is the next bridge up river and is pretty nondescript as bridges go.

After we crossed the Tower Bridge we stopped at Draft House for a cool one and some appetizers. Probably spent about 1.5 hours in there and enjoyed ourselves. From there we walked by to the London Bridge Underground station to go back to Mel's. Bonnie, Kay, and Melanie stopped at the market on the way home to pick up stuff for dinner. Melanie prepared a lovely dinner and we all sat and watched her clean up the kitchen at her behest.

Had a great time today. The weather was wonderful. The company was spectacular. The venues we visited we magnificent. Enough superlatives for this day. Pictures will follow.

Monday in London

Monday was a day of learning experiences. We bought tickets on the Big Red Bus. My suggestion is that you not do this if ever you go to London. I'm sure others would say that it was wonderful but it is an expensive way to get commentary as you move through the city. The travel time is extensive because you can't move from route to route as there is basically only one. You can't go direct to anywhere. My suggestion is that you take the tube or regular surface transport instead of the Big Red Bus or the other line that does the same unless you want the commentary.

We took the Big Red Bus to the Tower of London. This was a very nice place. We got to see the Crown Jewels but you won't unless you go there because photography is prohibited. The tower really is a moated fort with a keep inside. The moat is no longer in operation. The keep is no longer used except as a tourist attraction and is in the middle of renovation. There are still guards housed at the "fort" to guard the Crown Jewels which are kept in a vault that you walk through to view them. My personal opinion would be that if you have to bypass something the Tower of London would probably be something to take off you list. The Tower Bridge is a much better use of your time and money. St. Paul's Cathedral would have been much better I'm sure and we passed that by to go to the Tower, an error in judgment. Westminster Abbey was closed on Monday because it was Commonwealth Day and Queen Elizabeth and a host of dignitaries were attending a Commonwealth Day event there.

From the Tower we took a cruise back to Westminster Bridge to try to get to St. Paul's before they closed. We arrived with only about 25 minutes to see this huge structure. Decided we could probably come back in the morning but we never were able to make it.

I did get a couple of cool shots of Parliament and the clock tower known as Big Ben and will get them posted.