Thursday in London

We woke up early and left the house before Leanne, aiming to get to the Tower of London before the masses. Caught the tube in, and for some reason got off at Bank not Tower. Dumb. Got lost on our way there, but it was alright - the scenic route took us past the monument erected following the fire of London, very interesting, and we still made it into our destination before 9:30. 

The first thing we did was see the Crown Jewels. I am pleased we did as when we went through we were almost alone however when we emerged the queue was already growing. By this point it was time to join a tour, led by one of the Beef Eaters - John told us that he isn't sure why they are called Beef Eaters but he and the others believe it could date back several hundred years to a time when they would eat at the Kings table as a supplement to their wages. He took great pleasure in telling us that out of the thirty seven current Beef Eaters, two were vegetarian! I found it fascinating that these men still live at the Tower of London with their wives, children, and even grandchildren, as they have done for hundreds of years. They have a whole community within the walls of the castle, including a doctor, chaplain, and a bar! Imagine watching your children play on the grass where the two princes played before they were murdered, where several Queen's lost their heads, and where some 1,500 bodies are buried in a mass grave just meters away. It would be incredibly strange, but what an amazing history to be a part of. John told us that in order to be considered for a position as a Beef Eater you must have served at least twenty years in the military, have raked up a bunch of honours and awards, have reached at least the rank of Sergeant Major (or equivalent), and then be selected for the one position out of approximately one hundred and fifty applicants. It's a very sought after position and I imagine that moving out of the Tower upon retirement must be incredibly sad for most of them.

We spent about eight hours exploring the Tower and loved every minute. We did the audio tour as well as the Beef Eater tour, I can't recommend it enough. It blew my mind that the oldest part (a wall) dated back to the Romans and was almost 2,000 years old. Insane. Definitely the best place we visited in London. 

Once we left, I made Willy circumnavigate the exterior with me so I could take photographs, before we crossed Tower Bridge - another beautiful piece of architecture, just beautiful. We wandered down a street on the other side of it which I imagine looks awfully similar to how it looked when Jack the Ripper roamed the streets, but is now full of trendy restaurants and bars. We caught the tube back to Tooting and went to Spoons for dinner.