After a slow start to the morning (woke up a bit late, ate our usual toast and OJ), we set out from Addie's flat sporting our new soccer gear, Jonah in his Barca jersey, Stephen in his England warm-up and me in my #4 Gerrard.
We bought another one-day pass on the Tube and headed for the Tower Hill stop to see one of London's oldest and most impressive sights: the Tower of London. After getting there, taking the requisite pictures and buying our tickets (yes, student discount!), we entered and latched onto the back of a tour group.
We followed them for a little bit, but it was hard to hear the yeoman so we decided to go it on our own. We checked out the site of Anne Boleyn's beheading and took pictures of the absolutely massive ravens before going to see the Crown Jewels.
It's a bit of walk to get to the Crown Jewels, with a room full of royal seals and a video of the coronation of the Queen coming before, but the Jewels themselves are spectacular. The sheer volume of precious metals and gems is astounding, especially when you remember that most were acquired while Britain was an empire and thus practically stole all of them. We liked the jeweled sword and the giant solid gold punch bowl in particular.
From there we moved to the Royal Armory, which is one of four museums in the UK that displays the armor of the Brits through the years. We got to see the suits of armor that the kings and their horses used to wear. The monarchs of old were surprisingly small, Jonah and I are each much bigger and Stephen approaches the threshold of giant.
After laughing at Henry VIII's rather....interesting suit of armor, we walked to the Bloody Tower and read about the conpiracy of the two boy-princes, allegedly murdered by their uncle, Richard III, so that he could claim the throne. No doubt Sherlock could've solved the mystery.
Last but not least, we went into the Torture Chambers and saw all the vile devices that could definitely still work in a place like Guantanamo. The three most common options were the rack, which stretched you out, hanging by your hands for up to 6 hours, or the scavender's daughter, a fiendish device that pushes your shins against your thighs and your thighs against your chest and then holds you in that position. Personally, I'd go for the rack, I'm claustrophobic and impatient, so the other two would be worse.
The Tower Bridge was in sight, so we decided to take a walk across and take some pictures. Stomachs rumbling and cash running low, we ducked into a gastropub and had an awesome lunch, the fish and chips were divine.
Stomachs full and cash running really low, we had a bit of dilemma. We needed to find a bank, a suitable pub and London Bridge, all before the Italy-Romania match started in 20 minutes. After a rather hostile misfire on a pub, we found a suitable cash machine (note to selves: most cash machines don't take American cards. Find banks.).
With a little more cash flow, we found the Barrowboy and the Banker, a fantastic pub right at the edge of London Bridge. We found a table, ordered drinks and watched a rousing match that resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Tired and well-versed in England's shady history, we made the trek home and made some dinner. For tomorrow, we've promised to wake up early and attempt to see the Imperial War Museums and Covent Garden. Hopefully it's a nice day.
-Charl
P.S. The Netherlands look absolutely unstoppable. They are scoring with style and winning with flair. Who can possibly stop them at this point? A Portugal-Netherlands final would be incredible.
We followed them for a little bit, but it was hard to hear the yeoman so we decided to go it on our own. We checked out the site of Anne Boleyn's beheading and took pictures of the absolutely massive ravens before going to see the Crown Jewels.
It's a bit of walk to get to the Crown Jewels, with a room full of royal seals and a video of the coronation of the Queen coming before, but the Jewels themselves are spectacular. The sheer volume of precious metals and gems is astounding, especially when you remember that most were acquired while Britain was an empire and thus practically stole all of them. We liked the jeweled sword and the giant solid gold punch bowl in particular.
From there we moved to the Royal Armory, which is one of four museums in the UK that displays the armor of the Brits through the years. We got to see the suits of armor that the kings and their horses used to wear. The monarchs of old were surprisingly small, Jonah and I are each much bigger and Stephen approaches the threshold of giant.
After laughing at Henry VIII's rather....interesting suit of armor, we walked to the Bloody Tower and read about the conpiracy of the two boy-princes, allegedly murdered by their uncle, Richard III, so that he could claim the throne. No doubt Sherlock could've solved the mystery.
Last but not least, we went into the Torture Chambers and saw all the vile devices that could definitely still work in a place like Guantanamo. The three most common options were the rack, which stretched you out, hanging by your hands for up to 6 hours, or the scavender's daughter, a fiendish device that pushes your shins against your thighs and your thighs against your chest and then holds you in that position. Personally, I'd go for the rack, I'm claustrophobic and impatient, so the other two would be worse.
The Tower Bridge was in sight, so we decided to take a walk across and take some pictures. Stomachs rumbling and cash running low, we ducked into a gastropub and had an awesome lunch, the fish and chips were divine.
Stomachs full and cash running really low, we had a bit of dilemma. We needed to find a bank, a suitable pub and London Bridge, all before the Italy-Romania match started in 20 minutes. After a rather hostile misfire on a pub, we found a suitable cash machine (note to selves: most cash machines don't take American cards. Find banks.).
With a little more cash flow, we found the Barrowboy and the Banker, a fantastic pub right at the edge of London Bridge. We found a table, ordered drinks and watched a rousing match that resulted in a 1-1 draw.
Tired and well-versed in England's shady history, we made the trek home and made some dinner. For tomorrow, we've promised to wake up early and attempt to see the Imperial War Museums and Covent Garden. Hopefully it's a nice day.
-Charl
P.S. The Netherlands look absolutely unstoppable. They are scoring with style and winning with flair. Who can possibly stop them at this point? A Portugal-Netherlands final would be incredible.
2 comments:
Interested to hear about the pub misfire.
Netherlands do look unbeatable for now.
Enjoy the war museum. Our Yeoman had a much louder voice than yours
I recall a great tour.
Glad you tried the Fish and chips
Too much fun!! It sounds great. Even the pub names are interesting.
Steven, where are the pictures?! (I know the other two can't do it, but we "need" them!
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