We haven’t ridden The London Eye yet (that’s the big Ferris Wheel), but on our second day we went to the Tower Of London.
This is a large castle in the middle of the city, right alongside the Thames. It’s been there since the 12th century, and is remarkably well preserved and presented. Many kings and queens have lived and ruled from the tower, and many famous peoples have been executed or buried there as well. It reeks history, and every part of it is fascinating.
Nothing less, perhaps, than the Crown Jewels. They are on exhibit in a heavily fortified building inside a gigantic walk-through safe. They are the actual crown jewels, so we got to see (for instance) the biggest diamond in the world and a gold-plated punch bowl big enough to bath in. Unfortunately photography is prohibited, so no photos, but I assure you it is a sight worth seeing.
Second most interesting is the Royal Armories. This is the exhibit of the collection of weapons and armor owned by the royals. Three such examples:
The left shot shows a suit of armor and horse armor that was made for (and presumably worn) by an English king from almost 500 years ago! It’s difficult to see in the image, but the armor is fully engraved all over and is just an amazing work of art. The rightmost shot is a close up of another royal suit of armor (from 1600 if I recall), this time gold plated and – again – fully engraved. Awesome stuff.
The collection’s not just old stuff though:
A few years ago London had an anti-crime program where people could anonymously turn in guns without fear of punishment (guns being illegal here). The above photo shows a pistol that was turned in, and yes those are real (over 1500 of them…) diamonds. All the was known was the gun was made in Germany; by or for whom is a mystery. It is now in the royal collection.
We took a guided tour from a beefeater; saw the ravens that live in the tower; saw 500+ year old graffiti and even ate in the cafe inside the tower. For all my joking about the current royals (check your mailboxes for postcards…) I have to say I greatly enjoyed the history in the Tower.
Here’s a shot of the Thames from just outside:
And here’s a shot of my lunch, and KLS’s ordering-of-dinner:
Cricket on the telly and page 3 girls in the paper…