We were off at 8:45 this morning, hopping on a bus to take us to the Tower of London, a magnificent venue which has played a significant role in British history. The central White Tower, which is the oldest part of the castle and previously housed the British monarchy, now holds an impressive selection of ancient amour. The very large collection of Crown Jewels is also located on the premises.
The closest you can get to the crown jewels without being there. (No photos allowed inside.)
On arrival we made a beeline for the crown jewels before the lines had a chance to develop. Our strategy worked as we had a largely unobstructed view of the priceless British bling. The Tower of London is probably best known for its dark history as the holding and execution place for those convicted of acts against the Royal Monarchy. Those executed on the Tower Green include Ann Bolyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Henry the VI.
An English guard stands in the background.
Noah and a line of cannons.
Our Beefeater (a former military, current tower guard) tour enlightened us with the stories of these unfortunate souls and the events that brought each of them to their grisly demise. Our visit ended with an ear-splitting 21-cannon salute to celebrate the opening of the British Parliament. No worries, however, because Emmie slept through the event. As an aside, Noah appears to have absorbed some of the stories and information presented at the Tower as he has been chattering about “chopping off” the heads of his gummy worms tonight.
Grandma Mac watched Emmie during much of our time at the Tower of London.
The Tower of London provided a great backdrop for the Tower Bridge.
Our Thames River boat cruise served two purposes: providing us with an informative and alternative view of the London skyline as well as dropping us off closer to our next few destinations: The Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Pret A Manger, our lunch destination. After the boat deposited us into the rain by Big Ben, we slowly maneuvered through throngs of people (and puddles) in search of one of many London Pret A Manger locations, to no avail. The entire journey was complicated by barricades along the major streets for the parade earlier in the day to celebrate the start of this year’s Parliament session.
Amanda and Emmie on the river cruise.
Brian decided, without consulting me, to press on towards Buckinham Palace and hope there was something to eat closer to the palace. At this point Noah was asleep in the stroller, Emmie was getting grouchy and hungry, and I was starving. I was not happy to learn, in the middle of St. James Park, that food was no longer our immediate destination. A box of Coco pops entertained Emmie for the duration of the walk, and Buckingham Palace was fun to see all decked out national pride, with flags lining the street from the aforementioned parade. Unfortunately, the queen was mistaken about our arrival time to her neck of the woods and she was unable to greet us personally.
A British telephone booth with Big Ben in the background.
After snapping some obligatory guard photos and another walk in the pouring rain we found a packed-even-at-2:00-p.m. Pret A Manger and got some grub. Noah and Gee Gee enjoyed warm croissant sandwiches and Grandma Mac had bread and butter. (She must have still been sympathizing with the Tower of London prisoners.) Emmie had a whole banana, chips, bread and butter, ham, more bread and butter, yet more bread and butter, and half a bottle of water before we finally cut her off. All-in-all, it was an excellent, budget- and time-friendly meal despite the ridiculously long trek to find the restaurant.
After taking a short bus ride, we made it back to one of Grandma Mac’s most anticipated stops: Westminster Abbey. In addition to being a spectacularly intricate old church building, it has been the site of the royal coronations, marriages, and burials for hundreds of years. Mary Queen of Scots, Henry the 8th, and Queen Elizabeth 1 are all interred here. Emmie enjoyed testing the walls of the church to determine the quality of the echoes, while Noah thought the audio guide was great fun. Grandma, Gee Gee, Brian and I all enjoyed looking at the various areas of the abbey and marveling at the architecture. We were also able to see the coronation chair, or King Edward’s Chair, which has been used at every English coronation since 1308.
In front of Westminster Abbey, part one.
And part two.
Supper for Amanda, Noah, Emmie, and Gee Gee consisted of Dominos pizza which was subpar (even for Dominos), conveniently delivered to our flat. Grapes, and some of Gee Gee’s Cadbury chocolate bar, rounded out the nutritious meal.
Meanwhile, a recap of the evening’s events from Brian:
The first of two nights of musicals for our group kicked off this evening, when Grandma Mac and I hit the subway to see Les Miserables, plus hit up Byron Proper Hamburgers and the Gelupo gelato shop before the show. Dinner was solid if not spectacular. Grandma very much enjoyed her chicken sandwich, while my burger was above-average. I loved the two gelato flavors I tried, mint stracciatella and ricotta-chocolate-black pepper. The show itself was impressive, as were the crowds on the street afterwards.
Another early day tomorrow with highlights including the Churchill War Rooms, Kensington Palace, Portobello Road Market, and our first fish and chips shop in England.