Day 3 - June 15, 2024 - Classic London Monuments

By Ellen Outten

 

Two Beefeater Guards at the Tower of London 


Today I took a tour called Classic London Monuments.  Our tour guide was wonderful. A blue badge guide that takes much study to learn everything London. We left the ship at 9:30 and did not get back until shortly after 6:00 p.m.  I logged a total of 12,700 steps walking through a good bit of history. 

The Cutty Sark sailing vessel, fastest of it's time designed to bring tea from China around Capetown South Africa before the Suez canal was built 

The Shard.  It resembles broken glass at the top

We were treated to a few drive-by stops of some famous landmarks including the building they call the Shard.  After arriving in the heart of the city, we made a 2-hour stop at the Tower of London where I did get to see the crown jewels. While pictures were not allowed they were certainly impressive and lived up to expectations. I learned quite a bit about Henry the 8th and all of his wives that were beheaded all because they didn't sire a male heir.  You think of the Tower of London as just one tower but it covers much more ground than that there are many buildings and while we did not get a chance to go through all of them it was a memorable experience. 

My first look at The Tower of London



Where many criminals arrived while being jailed and eventually beheaded.  It was called The Traitor's Gate.

Damage caused by the bombing during World War 2.
The Royal Armories building at the Tower of London 

The building where the Crown jewels are kept.  Very impressive, but no pictures allowed.
  
Entering the building where The Crown Jewels are kept.

The famous Ravens at The Tower of London.  The myth is that if the ravens ever leave, all of England will crumble. So the Brits solved the problem by clipping their wings so none can fly away.

The Tower of London bridge

In order to be a beefeater, which by the way no one knows why they are named that including the bee feeders themselves, you must be retired British army, Navy or Air Force with 22 years service plus have a good conduct medal. The two women pictured are in fact retired military.  The Beefeaters guard the Tower of London and the crown jewels. In fact many of them live on site at the Tower of London.

The rain let loose enforce as we finished seeing the crown jewels and we got drenched as we started back to the bus. 

From there we headed to Covent gardens. I'm not sure what I was expecting but I was thinking it was a garden. Well I was wrong as is often the case. It's shops and lots of outdoor eating establishments and many street performers with acrobatics and juggling. We had a one and a half hour stop at Covent gardens and rather than have lunch I decided to keep walking and see as much of it as I could. 

Pictures from my walk around Covent Gardens.




Street Performance at Covent gardens 

Just as is the case in most European cities, the washrooms require a fee. Everything has gone contactless payment so it's just as well that I had a credit card for the toilet.

Views of The Royal Opera House adjacent to Covent Gardens 



After our stop at Covent garden our bus driver drove us around all of the TPV which stands for top priority viewing. The Britain's seem to all speak in acronyms. We saw Big Ben, the Tower bridge which stands right next to the Tower of London, we drove past Buckingham Palace, Parliament, The London Eye, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall. 

Views from the bus as we toured the TPV's
A bad picture of Westminster Abbey during drive by.

Big Ben, actually it's the bell inside that's called Big Ben.  The Tower is the Elizabeth Tower

The famous London Eye.   Traveling a whopping speed if 1/2 mile an hour.



A quick look at Buckingham Palace 

Westminster Abbey 

Westminster Hall next to Westminster Abbey 
More of Buckingham Palace 


The city of London, as I said yesterday is so crowded with traffic that although we were probably not more than 15 miles from our ship it was a full day adventure to just have our bus driver take us around the city. Compounding this, today was the birthday parade of King Charles. Although his birthday is not until November, the whether or not being good in November there is a birthday parade for him in June each year now that he is king. I think they missed it on the weather forecast and the coldness today with a high of 57 degrees F.

I was glad I was layered up with a turtleneck, a sweater and a windbreaker. I needed all of that to stay warm. Tomorrow is a sea day, and so we get to relax and just watch the ocean go by.

Dinner tonight was in The Restaurant. I had a wonderful piece of poached haddock, grilled vegetables and sauteed spinach.











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