Day 5 - Tower and more

25 years ago we made a very quick visit to the Tower of London.  At that time we weren't able to do much exploring so on Day 5 we planned to spend the majority of the day at the Tower. 
We hopped on a bus and made our way over there.

In the 1070s William the Conqueror started construction of the fortress and at that time it must have been very imposing, it was the largest structure in England.  The tower was continually updated until about 1350.  The Tower has a lot of history including the mysterious deaths of Edward VI's young sons who were sent to the Tower in 1493 by their uncle, King Richard III.  They were declared illegitimate and were never seen alive again.  In 1674 the skeletons of two children were found under a staircase.

Then there's the Tudors, specifically King Henry VIII.  During his reign the Tower was used as a prison for religious and political prisoners.  Two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, were held in the Tower prior to their executions.  Lady Jane Grey, queen for nine days, was also executed here.  Queen Elizabeth I was briefly imprisoned in the Tower also.  Lots of history in this place.

Once again, I had pre-booked tickets to the Tower which helped us avoid the long lines at the ticket counter.

 

This is the largest structure--the White Tower.  St. John's Chapel and the Great Hall are in this structure.

 

Today it contains items belonging to the Royal Armoury.  I think Mr. Beans would really like to have this outfit.

 

I wonder how much those hats weigh?

 

Another structure contains the Medieval Palace built by King Henry III.

 

A beautiful view of the Tower Bridge from the walls of the fortress.

 

This is a monument on the Tower Green to all the executions that took place here.

 

Ann Boleyn, Catherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey are buried in the Chapel Royal which is not open to the public unless of course you blend in with a tour that is going into the Chapel.  Yes, Irv and I did that.   

 

After leaving the Tower we decided we needed to go walk across the Tower Bridge.

 

I took this shot from the bridge.  The mix of medieval and modern construction is interesting.

We boarded a river taxi to take us to the London Eye.  From the boat we got a good view of Traitor's Gate where prisoners, including Ann Boleyn, entered the fortress.

 

Dana suggested we pre-buy our tickets to the Eye and that saved us a very long wait to board.  The thing is huge.  We boarded our car along with about 18 other people, we started off then they reversed and took us back to the dock where we had to unload.

 

The security folks got on board and started searching for something.  After a few minutes we were able to get back on.  A large Italian family was with us.  Talk about loud and annoying.  They were all obsessed with taking selfies including the adults.  Two teenage girls actually asked me to move out of their shot.  It was ridiculous.

 

Amazing views from up there.  This is Big Ben and the Parliament building.

 

From here our next destination was Westminster Abbey.  We needed to walk across Parliament Bridge to get there.  Only a couple weeks before this there was a terrorist attack on this bridge where people died.  You would never have known this had occured. 

 

We purchased tickets for the Abbey and waited in line to go inside.

 

It's a very beautiful building.

 

Behind us in line was a family from Mexico.  Once they found out I was from the U.S. they started asking about Donald.  I have to tell you that this was the first time in my life that I was ashamed to be an American.  This family was obviously very wealthy and educated.  They told me how they visit the U.S. often because they love the country and the people, but now they will not go back until Donald is gone.  They no longer feel welcome even though they are legal tourists.  The hatred that our "leader" is portraying to the world makes me want to cry.  A wall, Donald?  I believe history has shown that a wall never works.

 

Once we got into the Abbey no pictures were allowed.  I was in awe as I stood next to the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I, Anne of Cleaves, and Mary, Queen of Scots.  Poet's corner was surreal.

 

Afterwords we hopped back on the bus to find some dinner.  The driver suggested Hay Market Street.  We found a place called "Proper Hamburgers" so we gave it a try.  While eating I looked across the street and Her Majesty's Theatre was there.  Phantom of the Opera was there.  After dinner we wondered over there to see if any tickets were available.

 

Yes!  Not the best of seats, but good enough.  It was an amazing performance!  Even Irv said it was a really, really good performance.

 

Afterwords we made our way to the Tube and went back to the hotel.  What a fun day!