Off with his head!

As the title suggests, today's excursion took me to one of the best-known buildings in the country, the Tower of London. Walked over almost every accessible part of the site, seeing where Sir Walter Raleigh spent his last years, where William the Conqueror put up the first part, and where the Crown Jewels are kept. They're actually in two places; the older crowns, stripped of their jewels, are kept in another tower. A few genuine diamonds are kept with them, though.

Also took the time to go on a brief tour of the castle in the company of a few actors acting out the last days of Sir Thomas More, one of Henry VIII's friends who refused to swear an oath declaring Henry to be the head of the Church in England and was beheaded as a consequence. Saw Traitor's Gate, the Bloody Tower, and watched the guard outside the Jewel House being changed.

After I left the tower, I walked across Tower Bridge to Southwark, hoping to go to the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a longer walk than I thought and I gave up part way. So, on the Tube I got, and I got off at Southwark station to see the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre. Snapped pictures of those, then crossed the Millennium Bridge back into the City of London and walked by St Paul's Cathedral before getting on the Tube back to my station.

After I got back to the hotel, my father and I set back out. Our destination was Preston Road Tube station, the nearest to his old home when he lived in London during the War. I saw his house, his old school, the railway bridge he ducked under when he heard planes overhead (didn't know if they were British or German), and the park and pond he used to spend time in. He lived in the area until he was about seven or eight, when his family moved up north to Leeds. After that, when he was about twelve, they moved to Canada.

All in all, quite an enjoyable day, despite my cold still being here. Tomorrow: the British Museum!