Day Two - London City Proper and The Tower Of London

Beefeater, Tower of London

The day started out with beautiful weather. We ate breakfast at the hotel. The food was uneven at best – who knew that you could ruin scrambled eggs? Some of our adventurous parents and boys enjoyed the very British beans on toast (with a little butter) breakfast (not me, but after the awful eggs – it is a probably a better alternative.). Our bus driver provided a motor coach tour of London proper, that included Westminster Abby, Westminster Cathedral , Parliament, the New Scotland Yard, the Sherlock Holmes house (even though Sherlock Homes is a fictional character), embassies, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s and other sites. The motor coach tour ended at the Tower of London where the group split up and engaged in a walking tour. And walk we did -- there were not any elevators or escalators and most of us walked up and down numerous staircases and walkways. It was a treat to view the crown jewels – they were an impressive display of riches indeed -- acquired (spoils of war) from all over the globe. The largest diamond in the world is housed there. This is the oldest collection of royal jewels still in use. We also toured the Towers and heard about the famous prisoners housed therein and learned about the instruments of torture used (although the British were not keen on the torture thing – they preferred to just do you in). The worst ones were the Sister Hugger where they bend the person over and folded them into three pieces and the rack which was looking fairly tame after the Sister piece. Walking the lockup made you realize just how small the space was. Most of the boys had to be very careful not to hit their heads when going through the doorways. We also had a chance to take a tour through the Armory – where English weapons and horses throughout the ages were displayed. The boys liked that exhibit. That exhibit had no line to stand in. There were many stairs to walk up and down but no line – unlike the Crown Jewels exhibit. The boys (and parents) got a real workout just touring the site.

The White Tower

After we toured the Tower, the group split up to eat lunch on our own – boy are we Americans spoiled by our bounty of good food. I have yet to eat a good meal here – they have all been adequate with some good/interesting foods. After lunch, some of us took a riverboat ride down the Thames River. Some of us went to the Churchill War Room. A few brave souls walked from the Tower to Westminster Abby (at least three miles) for our 4:15pm rendezvous. The city is preparing for a world beach volleyball championship and several streets were closed as they trucked in sand and set up the beach volleyball space. The weather has been beautiful – fall like at night. The smell of burning wood from fireplaces permeates the air.

Kathleen