Today is our last full day in London. We visited some of the classic London sites, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Our day started in Tower Hill passing by London wall, built by the Romans in around 200 CE.
The Tower of London is a very interesting site. Founded in 1066, the central white tower was built by William the conqueror in 1078. I really enjoyed walking along the battlements. These were built in the 1200s to further fortify the castle and to add more living space. They have recreated the kings apartment to how it was 800 years ago.
It was nice to see the ravens. Supposedly if there are not at least 6 ravens at the tower the kingdom of England will fall. The origin of this is unclear with multiple competing theories. One is that ravens were a good omen in roman times and since the tower sits on the edge of the former roman settlement of Londinium. During WWII many of the ravens died leaving only 3 alive, in response Winston Churchill ordered more ravens to ensure the flock was at least 6 in size.
After London Tower we crossed over tower bridge and walked along the Thames. We passed through Borough Market, the current buildings date to the 1800s but there has been a market there since the 1200s. I especially enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of backers there.
We crossed over millennium bridge (no death eaters this time) and headed to St Paul’s.
Though I have visited before it is quite the overwhelming place. Built in 1710 by Sir Christopher Wren it was the tallest building in London until the 1960s. Ashley and I climbed the 528 steps of spiral stair cases to the very top of the dome. It was an impressive site though a little nerve raking. Inside the main hall of the cathedral was amazing, not just in terms of size but in complexity. I found the painting on the inside of the dome particularly stunning and my neck started to hurts from staring up at it for so long.
Tomorrow I’ll probably get one more coffee in London and then we’re off to Paris.