Views at the end of the day

Tower of London

Today Christine and I went to the Tower of London and took the tour inside. The Tower of London is located next to Tower Bridge along the River Thames and is often identified with the White Tower, but is a complex of several buildings set inside two defensive walls and a moat.

At the center of the Tower of London is the White Tower, built in 1078 by William the Conqueror.

Norman chapel inside the White Tower.

Inside the White Tower is an arsenal museum, but Christine and I found the Norman toilet more interesting.

"Ack! Would you knock next time?!"

This is the Queen's House. A guard stands outside but I'm guessing the queen doesn't live there anymore.

There have been at least six ravens in residence at the tower for centuries. Charles II was tolled of the legend that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London the entire kingdom would fall. To ensure that there are always six ravens there, the ravens' wings are clipped to prevent them from flying away, and they are cared for by the Ravenmaster.

The Tower of London has a long history of being a place of torture and execution, and is considered the most haunted building in England.

The Crown Jewels are kept in the Tower of London. Unfortunately, we weren't aloud to take pictures of them. The collection includes some of the world's most famous diamonds. There has only been one attempt to steal the Crown Jewels in 1671, but the plan failed.

Millennium Bridge

This steel suspension bridge is a pedestrian only bridge that crosses the River Thames. Londoners nicknamed the bridge "Wobbley Bridge" after pedestrians felt unexpected swaying motions during the first two days the bridge was opened in 2000. The southern end of the bridge is near the Globe Theatre and Tate Modern, the north end of the bridge is below St. Paul's Cathedral. The views on and around the bridge were beautiful on this clear sunny day.

Changing of the Guard

I went to Buckingham palace today to see the changing of the guard, which is a daily ceremony that occurs at 11:30am each morning. The changing of the guard takes place in the courtyard of Buckingham palace, it's free to watch and lasts approximately 45 minutes.

At the Top of Tower Bridge

Today I went to the Tower Bridge Exhibition, where you can go to the top of the bridge and walk across the two high-level walkways between the towers. It was a nice day and the views were great! The exhibition also had a lot of interesting facts and history about the bridge; In 1952 a double-decker bus was on the bridge when it started to opened and the bus accelerated to jump the gap and landed safely on the other side.

Fish and Chips and Vinegar

The dinner of champions. There is nothing more British than fish and chips. There's a fish and chips shop down the block from our flat. After becoming regulars in the first two weeks of living in Forest Hill, we have discovered that we can open a tab! Although, that might not necessarily be a good thing.

OXO Tower

Gabriel's Warf is located on the south bank of the River Thames. It has tons of restaurants, galleries, and shops. The OXO Tower is a prominent tower and it's used by local artist to display and sell their works. The tower was originally constructed as a power station for the Post Office and then used as a meat processing plant for the OXO company.