London Day 2: Tower of London

---

This was by far the most we have walked in one day in quite some time, I estimate approximately 10 miles which would not have been so bad had we worn some better shoes.

Walk to the Tower of London

The first order of the day was of course to locate breakfast for Jennifer which turned out to be a bit more of a challenge than we would have expected.

The Tower and Bridge

The cost of visiting the Tower of London seriously challenged our belief that the subway system is the biggest ripoff in the city, fortunately the experience was worth the $65 we spent on admission. Our Beefeater was great, mixing in the perfect amount of historical tidbits and contemporary anecdotes.

London's West End

We worked our way back west intent on visiting the Waldorf Hilton for tea at the recommendation of our concierge at the Trafalgar. We arrived there at 1:30PM to find a largely empty cafe with a reserved signs on every table and were instructed by a feisty Russian waitress that they were fully-booked. After a brush with a full short-circuit we left this place and trolled through the West End searching for a replacement only to realize that the city was devoid of natives and that the staff at most places was Russian and did not seem to know what tea is, much less a scone. Most frustrating was not so much that we couldn't get these things but that we had really been counting on a proper break from our trek out to the Tower.

So we finally gave up on that and enjoyed the shops in the area.

---

Photos

Royal Courts of Justice
On our way to the Tower of London from our hotel on Trafalgar Square. Just really liked the clock.

St. Bride's Church
Also on our way to the Tower, by luck we checked it out as it peered through this little alleyway. The idea of the tiered wedding cake originated from this steeple.

St. Paul's Cathedral
Ooh! Ahh! Finally some sun over London, don't be fooled it was cold! The Anglican Church wanted $40 for us to visit it, looked like every other 19th century domed church. Karlskirche was close enough in Vienna!

Random Cat
Don't remember exactly where this one was, but she sure is pretty.

Our Beefeater
Served 28(?) years in the Queen's Royal Air Force . . . so he could deal with us damn Yanks and his knickers would hang dry for all to see in his family's Tower living quarters.

Tower Bridge
Nothing like early morning lens flare to bring out the mood.

Bloody Giant Yanks!
Right before the little tripod broke. We are actually modelling the clothes in the pictue, please inquire for pricing.

Our Beefeater's Buddy
. . . another one who is astounded she is married and to add insult to injury . . . to an OLD guy like me.

Dropping a Deuce
Just like her . . . couldn't wait til we got back to the hotel.

Guarding the Military Museum
Jen wouldn't go stand next to him because of the pointy thing.

Tower of London
And Manny looking like he's ready to go now.

The Gherkin
"Gherkin," another corny Brit word. This is actually the Swiss Re building.

Tower Bridge
As seen from the border of the Thames, also the starting point of our long huff back to the West End and finally to the St. Pancras - 15 miles in all!

Comments

[Sue]

Random cat
The random cat is in or near to New Change. I see it on my way to work as the 521 bus goes through the one way system. It is near to St. Paul's. By the way St. Paul's has its special features. The design of the dome was worked out by Wren as he went along!! The view over the City from the top is wonderful too. The choir is one of the best in the world - worth hearing on your next visit!