England Trip, September 2009, Day 3
This was my last full day in London. I didn't take very many pictures on this day. The main thing I saw was the Tower of London, which is actually a collection of towers and buildings inside a wall. I think it's more or less considered a castle, although it was different from the castle I saw on the previous day.
I have no idea what I thought I was taking a picture of here. I probably just thought the building looked interesting. Or perhaps I was interested in the polka dotted car...
...or maybe I was just pushing the button on the camera out of habit at this point.
This was the outside of the Tower of London, taken from a distance. That entire structure is considered the Tower of London, even though the name makes it sound like it's just one tower.
This picture is of the Tower Bridge which is right next to the Tower of London.
One of the strangest things about London was all the signs around telling you to litter. (This is a trash can, if you can't tell. I thought it was funny that it said "LITTER" on it. I'm easily amused.)
This is a picture from inside the Tower of London walls, showing some of the buildings.
This is another picture from inside the Tower of London walls.
This is another picture from inside the walls. The building toward the left is where the Crown Jewels are kept. You aren't permitted to take pictures inside the building, but they were very impressive. There were all sorts of jewels and crowns and scepters and fancy serving dishes and such.
This is another picture from inside the walls. I believe these were the homes that the Yeoman Warders live in. You can barely see one of them in the background, wearing red. They gave free tours of the Tower of London. I went on one of them and it was both interesting and funny.
This was taken from inside the Prison Tower at the Tower of London, where you could see the carvings that prisoners had made in the walls. The little black squares on the walls are numbers that correspond to explanations of what they said on a sign.
At the Tower of London, they had live actors roaming around pretending to be people from Henry VIII's era. At first, they were just walking around and interacting with the guests. Later, they started doing a reenactment of Queen Anne Boleyn's final days before she was beheaded.
The guy in this picture was Thomas Cromwell. I had actually been getting ready to leave and go somewhere else in London when I ran across the reenactment and got interested in it. I ended up staying to watch the whole thing and it was very well done.
Side note: The lady wearing the flip-flops was either insane or from Alaska. It was NOT that warm! In fact, it was rather chilly.
The guy in this picture was Thomas Cromwell. I had actually been getting ready to leave and go somewhere else in London when I ran across the reenactment and got interested in it. I ended up staying to watch the whole thing and it was very well done.
Side note: The lady wearing the flip-flops was either insane or from Alaska. It was NOT that warm! In fact, it was rather chilly.
These are a couple more of the live actors. I believe the lady with her back to the camera is the one who was portraying Queen Anne. I can't remember who the other lady said she was, but I believe she was Anne's main servant.
I never captured a good picture of Queen Anne, but here is one that shows her face.
After the reenactment, I left the Tower of London and found my way (eventually) to the British Museum.
After the reenactment, I left the Tower of London and found my way (eventually) to the British Museum.
This is not the British Museum. I have no idea where this was. I was probably lost.
THIS is the British Museum. At least, a small piece of it. This is actually just the entrance. I didn't take any pictures from far enough away to show just how humongous the museum is. It had three stories and was very, very big.
This is a picture of one of the many interesting objects I saw in the museum. I particularly liked this one because it reminded me of a TV show I used to enjoy watching, Stargate SG-1.
The sign explaining this picture said:
Red granite sarcophagus with paneled exterior surfaces
Fifth Dynasty, about 2400 BC
From Giza
Rectangular sarcophagi with slightly vaulted covers were used regularly in wealthy tombs of the Old Kingdom. The paneled design imitates an architectural feature of certain Early Dynastic tombs. Note the handling bosses on the ends of the lid.
There were signs everywhere telling us not to touch the artifacts, which was agonizing because I was dying to touch all those ancient and interesting things. But I managed to restrain myself!
I only made it through the first floor before my feet informed my eyes that the building was MUCH larger than it looked. My brain was too exhausted to object when my feet took me back to my hotel to rest.
After a break, I went back out to watch the Phantom of the Opera at one of the theatres which was within walking distance of my hotel. It was very good. I didn't take any pictures after leaving the British Museum, though. After watching the play, I walked back to my hotel for the night. I actually managed to find my way back to the hotel in the dark without getting lost!
The sign explaining this picture said:
Red granite sarcophagus with paneled exterior surfaces
Fifth Dynasty, about 2400 BC
From Giza
Rectangular sarcophagi with slightly vaulted covers were used regularly in wealthy tombs of the Old Kingdom. The paneled design imitates an architectural feature of certain Early Dynastic tombs. Note the handling bosses on the ends of the lid.
There were signs everywhere telling us not to touch the artifacts, which was agonizing because I was dying to touch all those ancient and interesting things. But I managed to restrain myself!
I only made it through the first floor before my feet informed my eyes that the building was MUCH larger than it looked. My brain was too exhausted to object when my feet took me back to my hotel to rest.
After a break, I went back out to watch the Phantom of the Opera at one of the theatres which was within walking distance of my hotel. It was very good. I didn't take any pictures after leaving the British Museum, though. After watching the play, I walked back to my hotel for the night. I actually managed to find my way back to the hotel in the dark without getting lost!