Tower of London

After spending almost two hours traveling around London on the double-decker bus with a great tour guide, we headed to explore the Tower of London. We got to see the outside of it on our last trip, but had to catch our boat cruise and didn't have time to go look through it.



Tower Bridge from inside Tower of London



We took a short tour with a Yeoman Warder (aka beefeater)


Bloody Tower



We saw the Ravens - legend has it Charles II was told if the ravens left the tower, the kingdom and fortress would fall. There must be six at all times (they keep 8 just in case).


This monument stands on Tower Green- where ten people were beheaded (inside the castle so there was no audience and was less humiliating). Hundreds more took place in public - on Tower Hill. The monument reads: "gentle visitor pause awhile: where you stand death cut away the light of many days : here jeweled names were broken from the vivid thread of life : may they rest in peace while we walk the generations around their strife and courage: under these restless skies."


Then it was time for the Crown Jewels - all pictures here courtesy of a google search. The Tower is apparently the safest place in London, and so the crown jewels reside here. We saw the most important crowns, coronation robes, scepters, dishes, the coronation spoon, etc. These are still used today at British coronations (although the last one was 60 years ago when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned). Fun fact - the Olympic medals were also being housed in the vault, but they weren't open to the public.

Guard outside - its a real person, I promise


Queen Elizabeth II at her coronation with many of the crown jewels


Cullinan I and II were both cut from the 3,000+ carat diamond (the largest ever found). Cullinan I (also know as the Great Star of Africa) is over 530 carats and is at the top of the Sceptre with the Cross. It was incredible.


The Cullinan II is set in the Imperial State Crown. It comes in a little over 317 carats (see it at the bottom of the crown)



We also saw the famous Kih-I-Nor diamond which is set in the Queen Mother's crown. Kings will not wear is diamond as it is said to be bad luck for them. Lucky us, ladies.


They also showed all the serving ware for the feast they hold after coronations. By far the most impressive was the punch bowl - it weighs over 500 pounds and can hold 144 bottles of wine


Lastly, we went inside the White Tower which houses an exhibition of armor and weapons used over the years.



Princes William and Harry's uniforms


An original toilet. Waste dropped straight down to the outside.


One of the first wall fireplaces ever - they used to all be in the middle with no chimney


And of course, an original axe and block



There is much more to see at Tower of London - you could easily spend an entire day there if you pleased. However, we wanted to see some other things, so we were off to Trafalgar Square and the Royal Mews!


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Location:Rue des Irlandais,Paris,France