We took the lift up to the top, where you have a great view of both sides of the Thames.
The towers on each side are connected by two walkways. In each tower there was a video on the history of the bridge, and in the walkways there were displays on other famous bridges and the Olympics.
While there, we got a pressed penny souvenir for my sister! She loves them.
Once we were done inside the bridge, we toured the Victorian Steam Engine room to see how the bridge used to be operated. I think this part was more interesting to Adam than it was to me.
Next was The Monument to the Great Fire of London. It was constructed in 1671 to commemorate the 1666 Great Fire of London. Apparently it is the tallest isolated stone column in the world, and looks like a giant Doric column.
Inside is a very narrow spiral staircase consisting of 311 steps.
We climbed these to the top. The stairway was very narrow, the viewing platform was tiny, and it was just very claustrophobic. The views from the top were lovely, but it was quite windy. I don't need to ever do it again!
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| photo by Adam |
Since we missed out on doing it earlier in the week, we then popped in The National Gallery so I could see my favorite painting, Van Gogh's Sunflowers. There's just something about seeing it in person - the brushstrokes, the thick paint. It's amazing. Even Adam thought it was pretty cool. We also looked at a few other paintings in that wing by Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne and others. It was a short visit though.
It had already been a long day, so we sat outside by the fountain in Trafalgar Square for a while, just enjoying the day.
Our last museum for the day was the London Transport Museum. It chronicled all the different ways Londoners have used transport through the ages - horse, carriage, boat, bus, tube, etc. I thought it was really well done and interesting. But I think Adam had reached his museum limit!
My favorite was the section on the London Underground.
There was even a little display on Underground Station architecture which featured my old "home" tube stop that was by my home stay - Arnos Grove (2nd from right).
After all those sights, we deserved a break. We walked back to the room and relaxed for about an hour and a half before setting out AGAIN. This was probably our most ambitious day in London! We had tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys at 9:30.
First, we stopped by Sherlock Holmes pub on our way to the tube. This was the pub right next to the hotel my fam and I stayed at when they came to visit me in 2005. Many a drink was enjoyed here by my dad and Bill! Adam had a Guinness and I had a cider.
Then, we took the tube back to the Tower of London.
Right across from the tower is a yummy noodle bar chain called Wagamama. I'm really hoping they expand in the U.S. (currently they're just in Boston). We enjoyed our meal with a view of the Tower at night.
We still had some time to kill, so we took a bunch of photos of the Tower at night. It was spooky but really cool!
Adam got some great shots with a long shutter speed.
Promptly at 9:30, we were let in for The Ceremony of the Keys. This ceremony has occurred every night since the 14th Century to lock up the tower. The only delay occurred during World War II when a bomb hit the tower and momentarily delayed the ceremony. It's a simple but very interesting ceremony. Only about 30 people attend, and we had to write away for tickets months ago. It was well worth it though. I loved being in the tower at night with no crowds. Really cool.
We left the Tower a little after 10, and walked along the river so Adam could take some night shots. We didn't have a tripod with at that moment, so it was a little tricky.
Tower Bridge:
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| photo by Adam |
London Bridge:
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| photo by Adam |
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| photo by Adam |
Highlights of the day:
Stef - Tower of London (during the day)- The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London
- Van Gogh's Sunflowers
Adam - Beefeater Tour at Tower of London
- The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London
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