Well, if you looked at yesterday's account, you know that I have figured out that I need to take more bite-sized chunks in my travelogue just so I can keep up, so today, we will look at my pictures from the second half of the morning of Day Two in London.
So, we got off the river boat at the Tower of London. I did not take any pictures of the Tower from the boat, but Kellie did, and I will share them later. I would like to note that, while the Tower of London is an historical site, it required a fairly expensive (I thought.) ticket for entry. It seems like it was about 32 pounds apiece. It might have been 32 for the both of us. I don't remember. Anyway, here is the entrance into the famous or infamous Tower of London.
The castle/fortifications were originally built by William the Conqueror beginning in 1066 after he won the Battle of Hastings. The castle/fortifications were built using the stones of an ancient Roman defensive wall. The Roman wall is still outlined on the ground, and a few plaques pointed out the stones used from the ancient wall. I didn't take any pictures of them.
The following picture was very amusing to me. I had to think, "What kind of person thinks that it would be a good idea to post one fake crossbow guard along the top of the wall?" Just one! No more! In the picture, the mannikin and the crossbow look pretty real. They did not in person. It seemed very hokie, but it amused me.
I am sorry, but I am skipping a lot of interesting stuff like famous prisoners, including Sir Walter Raleigh and his family, the beheadings of Henry VIII's wives, and the torture and killing of William Wallace (who, by the way, was dragged to death behind horses on the cobblestone streets long before he was beheaded and quartered and who also was hardly ever mentioned at anything we visited), and going straight to the armory. Here we have the armor for one of King Henry's battle steeds.
Okay, a little crudeness is about to follow. BE WARNED! There were lots of suits of various King's armor throughout the centuries, and even at least one queen's armor, in the armory and almost all of them had some sort of codpiece. Most codpieces were simply a rather flat or slightly rounded cover of the so-called "family jewels." Apparently, Henry VIII was rather proud of the size of his "junk." If the codpiece was actually built to house his member, he was some piece of work. Check it out! I wish I had also gotten it from the side. It sticks out 6-8 inches.
Another "work" in the armory that caused me to think about who came up with the idea is this dragon made from swords, guns, cannons, and bits and pieces of other types of weapons, sitting on gunpowder kegs. A fire-breathing dragon guarding the gunpowder? Yeah, makes lots of sense to me!
I am not sure why, but that is the last picture that I took in London Tower. I already told you. I have weird ideas about the pictures that I should take. Anyway, Kellie and I spent the rest of the morning in the Tower of London Castle, reading all about the murders of Edward IV's boys by their Uncle Richard III and other interesting stuff. Then, we hopped back on the Big Bus and rode to the Buckingham Palace stop. Before we walked up to Buckingham Palace, we ate in a small, very touristy café near the bus stop. Neither Kellie nor I remember what we ate. If I haven't said it already, British food is not particularly memorable. It tends to be bland and overcooked with a lot of mayonnaise and vinegar. I had my first truly London Ale before lunch and I took a picture of it.
It was okay. I suspect Fuller's London Pride is like the Budweiser equivalent of London ales, an ale for everyone that will offend no one but not really impress anybody with its astounding flavors either.
Tomorrow, I will show you Kellie's pictures from the afternoon of Day Two. I only took one picture the rest of that day. I guess nothing amused me.