Day 7 in the UK!

DAY 7- March 13, 2013

Wednesday was our first full day in London- and it was FULL!!  After breakfast, we headed out to the Tower of London, where we saw the Crown Jewels, took a tour with a Beefeater (Yeoman Warder), saw the White Tower, and learned all about the bloody history of the Tower of London.  It was very interesting and sort of ominous!

Outside the Tower of London.

The Crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.  It holds the legendary Koh-i-noor Diamond,  105 carats and brings good luck to any woman who wears it, but disaster to any man who wears it.

We started at the Crown Jewels, since they always have the biggest line :)  There weren't too many people there though, so we got to see as much of them as we wanted.  No pictures were allowed, but here are the things we saw, thanks to the Internet.

The Imperial State Crown is set with 3,000 precious stones, including that big mama on the bottom, the 317 carat Cullinan II diamond.  It also holds the Black Prince's Ruby, right above the diamond.

The back of the Imperial State Crown, holding the Stewart Sapphire.

The Sovereign's Scepter with Cross holds the 530 carat Cullinan I diamond.

Next, we took a wonderful tour by one of the Tower's Yeoman Warders, known as Beefeaters.  There are 35 that live in and protect the tower with their families.  Below are pictures of all the things we saw while at the Tower.

Jordan in front of the Bloody Tower, where two young princes were held captive and were allegedly murdered.

Our beefeater tour guide at the entrance to the Tower of London.

Traitor's Gate

A look at the inside of the Tower of London complex.

The Tower Bridge and the White Tower.

The Apartments where the Beefeater's and their families live- marked by the blue doors.

Ancient graffiti ascribed to Lady Jane Grey, a prisoner at the Tower of London.

More "graffiti" in the Prison at the tower.

The executioner's block.

The Tower Green, where the most prestigious executions were carried out, including Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both wives of Henry VIII.

Jordan next to this MASSIVE sword.  Look at that hilt!!! Jordan is not a small man, either,  at 6'4".

Henry VIII's armor--is that codpiece really necessary?

The swords that belonged to each of these respective kings.

A lance and other pieces of armor and weaponry, all found inside the White Tower.

The world's biggest and smallest suits of armor, one at 6'8", the other made for a three-year-old.

A modern art piece made up of weapons and armor.

The armory under the White Tower.

Jordan in the White Tower.

We got to climb on the castle walls here!

Jordan and I on the tower walls, looking out on the Tower Bridge.

The hill outside the Tower of London where most of the executions actually took place.

After lunch at the Tower cafe, we headed up to Leicester Square, where we got our theatre tickets at the TKTS booth.  Then we took a stroll through Covent Garden, saw the Royal Opera House, and then walked through the area of London known as "The City" to see St. Paul's Cathedral. 

Covent Garden

The courtyard leading to Covent Garden.

The back entrance to the Royal Opera House.

The front of the Royal Opera House

Inside the lobby of the opera house, they had costumes from the Royal Ballet on display!

On the way to St. Paul's, we saw the grand Royal Courts of Justice.

We just had to take a picture!! Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd...

Well, hello St. Paul's!

Jordan outside St. Paul's.  

By the time we got here, we were just too tired to go in to see another cathedral :)  We went back to the hotel to rest for an hour or so before we went to dinner at Bella Italia in Leicester Square and going to see The 39 Steps on the West End!!

Piccadilly Circus.

The 39 Steps at the Criterion Theatre.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and such a great night out!

Out at the theatre! (As you can tell, I got the chance to wash my hair in our break).

The next day, we were off to Cambridge, so we got right back to the hotel for some rest!

Day 6 in the UK!

DAY 6- March 12, 2013

The next morning, we had breakfast and then headed back to the train station for our two hour train ride to London! We arrived at King's Cross Station where I experienced another moment of Harry Potter joy.

The inside of the shop at Platform 9 3/4.  

I loved the creativity of all these wands!!!

The Marauder's Map unfolded.

Wand selection.

Nerding out.  :)

So after that unexpected moment of pure happiness, we took the Tube to our hotel, which was ready for us even though it was before check-in time!  

At My Place Hotel in Earl's Court.

Tiny, but kind of charming!!

 So, we hopped back on the Tube to start our London experience the only way one should--at Big Ben, Parliament, and the Thames!

The London Eye on the banks of the Thames.

The sun came out--it didn't make it any less cold by the water though!!

Check my new Gryffiindor scarf :)

Yay!!!!!!

Since we were there, we went to Westminster Abbey.  We couldn't take pictures of the inside, but here are a few of the outside and a few from the Internet.

The exterior of Westminster Abbey.

The view from the east side of the building.

Poet's Corner.

Curious that Abraham Lincoln would have a statue in Parliament Square.

Here you can see a bit more of the Houses of Parliament.

After the Abbey, we took a walk up Whitehall to end up in Trafalgar Square.

The Horse Guards.

In Trafalgar Square, in front of the National Gallery.

After our walk, we were very cold and very hungry, so we popped into St. Martin-in-the-fields' Cafe in the Crypt.  A very good move.  It was cafeteria style, but delicious.  And we got our first introduction to pouring warm vanilla custard over our desert--in my case an apple crumble, in Jordan's case, a plum and berry tart.  Yummmmm.

Next, we intended on going back down Whitehall to the tube stop, but got turned around.  We ended up taking another road and walking across the Thames via the Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridge.  It was a good thing, because we got some great pictures and it was very romantic :)

We ran across the Sherlock Holmes pub and restaurant--when we went back a different day, it was too busy to eat in :(

Jordan on the Golden Jubilee Bridge!

How could you not feel romantic when you happen upon a view like this?? :)

Anyway, we walked back to the houses of Parliament and got visitor badges to see a debate in the House of Lords.  It was pretty cool to get to sit up there while they talked about labor laws for awhile.  We didn't see the house of commons, but I can't imagine it being more ornate than the house of lords.  It was beautiful.  Again, no pictures were allowed once inside the chamber, but here are a few of Westminster Hall and some from the Internet.

Inside Westminster Hall- this building was once the Palace of Westminster and England's medieval kings.

Inside the chamber of the House of Lords.  This was not this full the night we were there to observe.

When we were watching, it was conducted in a very genteel manner.... "I concur with my most honorable Lord So-and-So..."

After watching for a bit, we got sleepy and decided to call it a night, and went back to our hotel in Earl's Court.