Today our sightseeing will concentrate on areas of
London known as
The City and
Southwark. We take the tube and get off at Blackfriar's.
Blackfriars Bridge-cool. I love bridges and London has lots of them. We walk a bit looking for a place to have
breakfast. Down a side street
The Island Cafe. Richard has the full English breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, and toast. I don't remember what I had but maybe scrambled eggs and toast? Coffee or tea? The place is small and I think we were the only tourists there. I think the prices were reasonable. The food was fine.
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| Blackfriars Bridge |
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| Full English breakfast |
Walking back we pass Vinopolis, Southwark Bridge, some cool pubs.
Shakespeare's Globe Theater. I want to do the tour here as I'm a big fan of Shakespeare. The original Globe Theater has been rebuilt-half timbered and thatched-as it was during Shakespeare's time. The theater holds around 900 seated and 600 groundlings meaning you stand, not sit. It's a working theater and museum. Open in the middle which leaves some of the audience-the groundlings-exposed to weather. The seated ticket holders have a roof over their heads. Performance being held now is A Midsummer Night's Dream. We do the 11:00 am Exhibition and Theater tour senior rate £8.50 each. It was informative and interesting.
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| Southwark Bridge |
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| Postcard |
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| Admission ticket |
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| Shakespeare |
Next we cross the
Millennium Bridge-Tate Modern on one side of the river and our destination of St. Paul's Cathedral is on the other side of the river. Short walk to
St. Paul's Cathedral. Senior rate £7.20 each. No pictures allowed inside so I bought lots of postcards. Designed by Christopher Wren. Capped by a 365' dome-the second biggest in the world after St. Peter's in Rome. Since WWII this has been a symbol of Britain's resistance. Even though the Nazis bombed 57 nights they failed to destroy the cathedral. There were volunteer fire watchmen who stayed on the dome to protect the cathedral. The interior is stunning. The mosaics in the Quire depict the Creation and other Biblical scenes. We walk up the 257 steps to the Whispering Gallery. Supposedly a whisper spoken against one wall of the Gallery can be heard on the other side. My husband continues up 119 steps to the Stone Gallery, then another 152 steps to the Golden Gallery. Here he sees panoramic views across London. Many famous people have their crypts here-Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Florence Nightingale, Sir Christopher Wren. Instead of a huge monument his burial place is marked by a slab. The inscription on his slab states"Reader, if you seek a monument look around you".
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| Millenium Bridge |
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| Tate Modern |
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| St. Paul's Cathedral |
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Brochure
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| Mosaics in the Quire, West Front Entrance, Wellington Memorial, High Altar and Baldacchino, Nave looking through to the Quire and High Altar |
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| Dome |
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| High Altar and Baldacchino |
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Sir Christopher Wren's Tomb
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| West Front Entrance |
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| North-west Tower with the Swiss-RE building (gherkin) behind |
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Views from the Golden Gallery
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Then the biggie-
Tower of London. From St. Paul's we take a double decker bus. Tower of London. So much history. William the Conqueror built the stone White Tower 1077-1097 to keep Londoners in line. The Tower was an effective lookout for invaders coming up the Thames. Successors enlarged the Tower of London to its present 18 acre size. This tower is what gives this castle complex of 20 towers its name. Over the years it has served as Royal Mint, Royal Jewel House, and as the prison and execution site of those who opposed the crown. The White Tower has work being done on it. In the 13th century it was painted white providing a gleaming reminder of the king's absolute power over his subjects. It houses displays from the Royal Armouries' Collection which include the armor of Henry VIII. Admission £16.50 and I had a coupon so I didn't have to pay for my husband's ticket. Shortly after entering we see the Yeoman Warder/Beefeater that will provide a free 1 hour tour but you can leave a tip if you want. A coin, not a bill, is suggested. You are not allowed to take pictures of the Crown Jewels. The ravens kept here have part of their wings clipped so they can't fly. Legend has it that if the ravens desert the Tower, the kingdom will fall. We see the Traitors' Gate where many prisoners would enter the Tower by boat. As luck would have it I also get to see the raising of the Tower Bridge. This would be done to allow larger ships to pass through. Execution site looks like a lawn. The actual chopping block was moved inside the White Tower. Bloody Tower. Story is that young future king Edward V and his younger brother were locked in this tower 1483 during the War of the Roses by their uncle Richard III. They were never seen again and all sorts of stories swirled around about what happened to them. In the late 1600s two children's skeletons were found which many believed were the 2 young princes. The Crown Jewels. They are housed in the Waterloo Tower. You get in line on a conveyor belt walkway that takes you past the most precious ones on display here. Guards ensure their safety and that no pictures are taken. There are also display cases showing other crowns, scepters, robes, trumpets..... We easily spent 2 1/2 hours here. There is a gift shop where I buy the book "Paddington at the Tower". I also bought postcards and a souvenir guidebook. I paid cash so have no idea of cost except guidebook sticker £4.95.
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This is the bus we took
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| Ticket Office |
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Ticket
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The Tower of London and Tower Bridge postcard
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The Tower of London and River Thames postcard
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| Tower Bridge raising to let larger ships through |
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| Yeoman Warder/Beefeater tour |
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| Traitors' Gate |
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| Wakefield Tower on the left and Bloody Tower on the right |
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Bloody Tower and Wakefield Tower postcard
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Execution site
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White Tower
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White Tower
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White Tower postcard
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Imperial State Crown
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Tower ravens
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Royal Armour Gallery-guns
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| Armour of Henry VIII |
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Tower Bridge
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| Gift Shop |
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| Souvenir guidebook that I bought |
We return to our hotel.
Dinner is at the nearby
The Stanhope Arms. Very crowded. Fish and chips so-so.
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| Dinner |
I have tickets for the
Ceremony of the Keys. I had requested this several months before our trip as only a certain number are allowed for each night. Takes place at 9:30 pm. This is the ceremony for the locking up of the Tower of London. I hand over our tickets. Small group. Led by Yeoman Warder/Beefeater guide who explains the ceremony to us. This official locking up of the Tower has happened every night for over 700 years. No pictures or video allowed. Bummed. Horns/music, men marching. The sentry cries out "Halt, who comes there?" A Yeoman Warder replies "The keys." Sentry "Whose keys?" Yeoman Warder "Queen Elizabeth's keys." Sentry "Pass then, all's well." Then the key is handed over to the Resident Governor and the Chief Yeoman Warder says "God praise Queen Elizabeth." The men lift their hats and reply "Amen." Then the last post marches off. Takes about 30 minutes. I'm glad we did this. I took some pictures of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge at night after the ceremony but they didn't turn out that great.
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