London: Day 5

Today was extra chilly, which was fabulous and made it the perfect way to see the Tower of London. 

It was harder than usual to get to the Tower, since all trains going to Tower Hill, the nearest tube stop, were closed. But, with my handy iPad app that tells me all the alternate ways to get to a particular location, I managed to get there.

Even from a distance it was gorgeous.

Lovely.

The juxtaposition between the new and the ancient is great. 

This fearsome trio is there to greet you right at the entrance. 

This was part of the ancient stone walls that surrounded the Tower.

And this used to be the moat, now covered up with grass.

The way they converted it is very cool.

This is in the courtyard. Those are actually windows you see there. They were built that way so that it was hard for any arrows to go through them to the people inside. 

A picture of me with my medieval looking hair! I fit right in, if you ignore the jacket...and the iPad that took the picture.

I loved the windows that faced the courtyard. 

The stone walls, by the way, were freezing. 

This was the carefully recreated bedroom of the king Edward the *mumbles*. Sorry it's been a long day and I don't remember which Edward it was. 

With its fabulous fireplace.

It had, of course, its own private chapel.

This is the view from one of those windows. 

 The throne room, which was austere yet impressive.

Look at those windows!

Some of the royal ravens were in cage and they seemed less than happy about that arrangement. 

The ones who were free, though, were hopping around, playing with everything they could fine. Although they have their wings clipped so they can't fly, they still could glide quite a bit. 

Heading to one of the towers. 

Part of the original fireplace. 

They're hard to see, but these were inscriptions that prisoners made while they stayed at the Tower.

Look how great he looked! He knew it, too, staying really still as people took pictures of him. 

They are huge up close.

I sat down in one of the benches and he hopped along to the garbage can to see what he could find. He kept trying to pull the whole garbage bag out. 

I, of course, gave him a bit of the scone I was eating. I don't think we are supposed to feed the ravens. There may come a time when I refuse a bird food, but today was not that day.

Parts of the old Roman wall.

They had a great collection of armor and weaponry. 

It was interesting to see the changes in armor throughout the ages. 

Lots and lots of weapons. If you are planning on storming the Tower of London...don't.

Look at the bird on the right. That raven pulled an entire bag of potato chips out of the trash, opened it and started stuffing them in his mouth. 

He was cawing with his mouth full, which was hilarious.

A reproduction of the rack.

And more inscriptions prisoners made on the walls. 

When I was done at the Tower, I headed back out and started my way to Tate Modern.

London Bridge, looking lovely. 

I have to say, of all the museums I've been in so far, this one was my least favorite. The artwork was fantastic, don't get me wrong, but the way the whole place is set up is frustrating. It seems more geared toward making sure that you stop by the cafe and shop than seeing the artwork. 

When I was done there, I headed to the Millennium Bridge. 

 St. Paul's in the back.

It is one beautiful church. 

When I got there, an organ recital was about to start so  stayed to listen. The organist was incredible.

I then got something to eat, which made me sick as a dog, which is why this post is later than usual, but still, not a bad day, right?