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Published: September 11th 2017
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So today is the Tower of London. Onto the tube, such a great system and we were there in no time.
Coming out of the tube station and around the corner straight in a man wearing a union jack suit. Still can't believe I didn't take a photo but felt a bit rude if I had although I'm sure plenty of people do.
Turns out they dont start selling tickets until 10am at the gate but if you had bought on line and printed out or were in a tour they opened the gates earlier it seemed. £28 an adult, quite expensive but Amelia was free.
It is on such an immensive scale you can only imagine what it was like in the time built, when London was not what it is now.
First stop was the tower where the crown jewels are. Quite impressive and still surprised by what appears to be quite hidden security although I can't imagine how you would get them out of the place if you could get them in the first place.
The 'guards' are called Beefeaters -who are wardens of the tower. They started out as the bodyguards of
the royal family.
To be a beefeater you must have;
-Minimum 22 years service
-Sergeant Major or above
-Long Service good conduct medal
They live at the Tower of London with their families.
The tower has a large number of Ravens, all have their own name, that get fed 170gms of meat a day plus bread dipped in blood. Never found out what type of blood, probably a good thing 😊
As we walked up the steps two were on the rail. They are such an elegant looking bird, evil looking yes but when you look at them closely you realise they are not completely black. Their feathers are almost irredescent with greens and blues reflecting in the light. Was surprised how much Amelia was interested and wanted to go see them.
Apparently two of the Ravens are a bit 'enamoured' with each other and are always together, maybe it was these two.
Met one of the local knights. Love how they are in full traditional clothing, even chain mail which weighed 25kg!
Finding the souvenir store, Amelia took a big liking to the toy swords and helmets. Like father like daughter
I think ?
Stopping for lunch we saw first hand how quickly the weather can change, the day started out quite nice (compared to home!) but by the time we were finished the grey clouds had rolled in with a few drops of rain . . And this is summer here!
The weather provided a good excuse to buy Amelia a jacket as a souvenir. Of course she picked the brightest pink one.
Back onto the tube it really is an easy way to get around. Back to the hotel for a relax before heading out for tea at Sicily, an italian restaurant just around the corner.
Food was good but our waiter was inattentive and at times quite rude. He was definitely more interested in checking out the girl at the table behind us. Marie made comment to the manager before she left.
Into bed for an early night, jet lag is still in force for some more than others..
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