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Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Day 3 London


We woke to cleared skies today! Amazing a day without rain in London.  Our last day in London before taking off for France and yet so much to see.

When thinking over the tour from yesterday, we knew we wanted to visit the Tower of London, Big Ben and take a ride on the London Eye.


In the early 1080s, William the Conqueror began to build a massive stone tower at the centre of his London fortress. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. 

Through the centuries that followed, successive monarchs added to the fortifications. This short history charts the different stages of its construction and explains its role as fortress, palace and prison.


 The grass area between the outer and inner walls were the mote in days gone by.



I was amazed by the doors and stairways throughtout the castle.  

There is even a tour of all the crown jewels that we couldn't photograph for security reasons.


They were simply AMAZING!




There are some of the cages used to house the  menagerie of lions and other exotic animals the Kings kept on the grounds.

In one of the tower rooms there was a reenactment during the day 
to show what life would have been like.


In one section of the grounds there is a large museum that had rooms and rooms of armor, household items and the one I found most interesting, a sculpture of a dragon that was built out of the spoils of battle. Take a close look at the guns, helmets and armor.








At the end of the tour we ate lunch in the cafe they had on the grounds. Spent some time wandering the streets then went on our ride on the London Eye.
The London Eye can carry 800 passengers per revolution - equivalent to 11 London red double-decker buses.


Our ride was at the perfect time.  Sunset.  We watched the lights turn on across the river lighting up Big Ben and Westminister Abby.  

Hope you enjoyed your visit to the towers and your birds eye view of the Tower of Big Ben.  
Just missing the rosey red cheeks of the little children... 
Blessings, Debbie

6 comments:

Jessica said...

I love the Tower of London, such an interesting place. Thanks for sharing :) If you have time to visit my site is www.forgottencompass.com thanks!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

The roof of the cages are so amusing. thick concrete so the lions can't escape?

Ann said...

Oh Deb these pictures are so amazing, what beauty. The night sky is awesome with the lights. I LOVE the dragon too. The Tower of London is one of a kind, those cages amazing and pics of the city gorgeous. Everything-the doorway too.
Hugs
Ann

Antiques And Teacups said...

London is my favorite city to visit, but we aren't going this year. I love the Eye. Looks like typical April weather, although we had 80s in April 2 years ago! THAT was a shock! Thanks so much for the photos!
Ruth

Annie said...

I love London and the Tower of London was one of my favorite places to visit! By the way, did you see "bobbies on bicycles, two by two"? Westminster Abbey?

Cindy Adkins said...

Oh, this is wonderful! I want to visit England so badly - it's been a lifelong dream! I enjoyed all of your photos so much! Thanks for sharing.
Cindy