We got an early start this morning to head to the Tower of London. Early is better for any major attraction as it gets busy later on. Grab your favorite beverage, it's a photo overload today!
We took an Uber to the Tower and took this shot from the outside
Welcome to the Tower of London
Traitors' Gate, the most notorious of the Tower's entrances
The White Tower, completed in ca. 1100, it was the tallest building in London at that time, and is the most complete and well-preserved Norman keep in the world
The entrance to the Jewel House, no photography allowed
Exiting the Jewel House, we found this tree decorated with jewel-like ornaments
Touristy, but fun
We gathered here at the base of the Bell Tower (1190) for our Yeoman Warder tour
Our guide was Emily Lewis-Garwood, she's featured in the Historic Royal Palace's Tower of London souvenir guidebook - she was so informative and entertaining
You'll know these two if you've seen The Lion in Winter (1968) with Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn (along with very young Timothy Dalton and Anthony Hopkins)
King Edward I and Queen Eleanor
Vic and Emily - when she finished the tour she said, "If you enjoyed the tour, my name is Emily and if you didn't, my name is Louise!"
The Tower Hill Execution Site marked by a memorial that names 29 of the 125 people executed there, including Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey
After the tour, Vic toured The White Tower, but I passed as it was four stories of steps. Instead, an attendant took me via this lift (looked a bit like I was heading to the dungeon!) to the basement where the Armoury and the gift shop were located
Reunited with Vic, we walked across to the Fusilier Museum
A look back at The White Tower
We didn't make it to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, so we found this mini version
It was time for a quick cream tea
After our tea, we headed to the gift shop where I continued my support of the felted ornament industry and Vic picked up a Battle of Waterloo chess set - we headed back to the hotel for a nap as our time at the Tower ended up being over four hours
We took an Uber to Liberty for a quick browse before our visit to the theater
This bear was 10,000 pounds (in sterling, not in weight!)
Another interesting and pricey animal decoration - it was so cute the way it moved its head
This reindeer was a partner (in price) to the bear
Ornaments galore
Vic enjoyed browsing through the pattern books
It was time to head to the theater and a mega fangirl moment as we were leaving Liberty when I realized we were sharing the lift with this guy - Christiaan from The Great British Baking Show Season 15. I said I was such a fan and wished him a Happy Christmas and then the lift doors opened and my celebrity encounter was over!
Off to The London Palladium for the Sleeping Beauty Pantomime
Incredible sets, costumes, music, dance numbers - very cheeky as my gran would say - the innuendo would make Mel and Sue from the early seasons of the Baking Show positively blush, but it was hilarious!
After the show, we wandered around for a bit in search of holiday lights
Regent Street did not disappoint
We even managed a halfway decent selfie
Close-up of one of the angels
I shot off a quick Instagram message to Christiaan and was delighted that he responded
Next up, our final full day in London - no, no, no, I DO NOT want to go home!
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