Third full day, London, April 14, 2025

 

    Today, we started bright and early for the Tower of London. When we got there, it seemed a bit crowded, but....later it was SUPER crowded. We walked around before our 10 a.m. tour which turned out to be very good as we were able to get into the tower where they had the implements of torture. Ugh. And, we were able to walk about and get a feel for the place.

      Our Yeoman Warder, Tom, who gave the tour was excellent. He was informative, funny....and, of course, gruesome. He is a veteran of the airforce and it is quite an honor to become a Yeoman Warder.

He gave a pretty thorough history of the Tower for almost a full hour. 

      By then, the crowds had intensified with a very, very long queue to see the Crown Jewels and to get into the Bloody Tower. So, we went into the Beauchamp Tower (no line) where prisoners have etched in their names, messages, poems, engravings into the walls for over 50ft

   

    Then - off to the cafe for a lunch. Afterwards, we went into the White Tower

(the Keep and where the royals palace was/is.) It now houses the armory on one floor. It was so crowded that it was unpleasant, so we fairly quickly exited and then decided we had done enough and had the flavor of the place. We learned that part of the reason for the long queues was because several things were under renovation, including the battlements and the chapel which funneled more people into fewer places.

      We walked back to the flat and had a snack and a bit of a rest before setting out. We thought we might go to Camden Town in the afternoon, but Sebastian thought better of it having been in enough big crowds for the day.

     So, we caught the Uber boat (can use Oyster card) toward Westminster. We couldn't get a front seat and it was pretty full, but it was still nice. We had intended to go to Battersea and then come back, but the high water prevented that and we had to disembark at Westminster. 

   

   We walked to the Supreme Court, which is a quiet spot on Parliament Square, where there are easily accessed toilets and a nice little cafe. We were the only ones in the cafe - and thousands outside on the street. (Thank you to Maura for this wonderful tip.) Then we went into two court rooms and had a lovely guard explain things.

   

   Rather than boat back, we went by Tube back to Tower Hill and found a small, charming Indian Restaurant, Sripur. The food was excellent - Sebastian had his first taste of lamb. We all were very happy with our meals. Then - walked back home and struggled for the second time with a very finicky washing machine that likes to shut off.