We walked out the door Friday to discover that the elevator was broken. Since I'd already wrestled Samuel into his stroller and wasn't about to try that again, I carried the stroller (with Sam) down four flights of stairs. It was a bad omen.
Friday was an incredible day because we were in an incredible place. The Tower of London, however, is known for tragedy, and we added our own tragedies (large and small) to its long history.
Samuel was the first to be wounded. We came out of the underground and carried the stroller up the stairs in front of us only to discover that they didn't lead to anything more exciting than a sundial. Before carrying him back down the stairs, I thought I'd snap a quick photo of the Tower. This is when Samuel's stroller tipped over and he hit his head on the curb. Mother of the Year, that's me.
Here are Caroline and the kids on their way to the Tower entrance. Notice the cute bag around Evie's neck. It plays the central role in the day's biggest tragedy. Caroline made the bag to match a grown-up version that she gave to me, and Evie fell in love instantly. She carried a notebook (which she pretended was a map), markers, two coins, and a smashed penny she bought at the British Museum. The bag was made of cute fabric with royal guards, crowns, and the London Eye. Adorable.
We made a quick stop for lunch at some shops just behind the ticket booths and then headed over to the Tower. Johnny was impressed with the siege machine (catapult?) set up in the moat.
Johnny and Evie had a fun time playing in the moat while we waited for one of the guided tours to begin. It was at this point that Caroline noticed something missing ... Can you guess what is missing in these pictures?
That's right. Evie's bag! Caroline ran back to where we'd had lunch to see if it was there. No. The tears began, mostly Evie's, but Caroline and I might have shed a few ourselves. Despite several talks with guards, the people at the KFC where we ate lunch, and even the general security manager (who very generously presented poor Evie with a bag and teddy bear), we never found the bag. Evie was emotional all day, and burst into tears about it at random moments through the next couple of days. Tragedy, I tell you!
But it is the Tower of London. Despite the bag's loss, we had to go on! We (and about a thousand other people) took a tour from one of the Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters), who was full of funny, romantic, and bloody stories from the Tower's history. Johnny loved the tour and kept squeezing through the crowd to get closer to the yeoman. This nearly gave me a heart attack. Thankfully, it did not lead to another Tower tragedy (or execution).
I thought the most impressive part of the tour was the end, when we were allowed to enter the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, and Thomas More are buried. You can only go into the chapel on one of the tours, so I was glad we'd done that.
Here's the Tower Green, where the famous prisoners were executed, with Tower Bridge in the background. You can see that it's raining. It rained on and off through our tour, but not enough to be too annoying.
Here are Caroline and the kids at the Tower Green memorial.
Samuel wasn't too impressed with the Yeoman Warders. Did you know that they and their families actually live at the Tower?
Here's the Queen's House (said to be haunted by the ghosts of Arbella Stuart and Anne Boleyn), complete with guard and one of the famous ravens. Sweet!
You can't go to the Tower of London without seeing the Crown Jewels, so that was our next stop. They're housed in this building and guarded by Yeoman Warders and foot guards.
The jewels were magnificent, of course. We were lucky that the line wasn't too long, so we went through the section with the scepters and crowns twice. I thought the most spectacular was the Imperial Crown of India, though I might be a little biased. The 500-pound punch bowl is taking things a bit far, though, don't you think?
Johnny informed me (correctly) that this foot guard is one of the Coldstream Guards. You can tell by the red plume in his bearskin hat and by the buttons arranged in pairs down the front of his jacket. Johnny learned about the different regiments while we were waiting for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Johnny was just a fount of information all day, because he also told me that this cannon is a 12-pounder. We walked over to the sign to see if he was right, and he was, of course. I asked how he knew that, and he told me that he remembered how to determine the cannon-ball size from our visit to the Alamo. He can identify a 12-pounder from across the green, but he can't remember to pick up his dirty socks. It's amazing!
On our way to see the armory in the White Tower, we passed by this bit of the ancient Roman wall that William the Conqueror used in his building of the Tower of London.
On the way into the White Tower, Johnny (fount of information, remember?) spotted the staircase where the bones of the two young princes were found. It was kind of creepy.
In the White Tower, we saw royal armor and military uniforms from the Middle Ages right up to the present day, including one of Prince Harry's uniforms. (Ladies, he's still available ... I think.)
Highlights were Henry VIII's tournament armor (dates to 1540), with specially made ... er ... athletic cup ...
... gilded armor that belonged to Charles I (1612), with matching armor for the horse ...
... James II's light infantry armor (1686) ...
... and I've completely forgotten who wore this set (Charles II, maybe), but it's cool, no?
Here are Caroline and the kids in the White Tower while everyone still liked each other. I'm leading up to another small tragedy ...
And here we are peering down a Norman-era toilet. It empties into the moat. Brilliant!
This lovely photo of Evie in front of a collection of spears might seem innocent enough to you, but it's actually the beginning of our next Tower tragedy. Johnny has this "fairness" issue, you see. If Evie has her picture taken alone, he has to has his alone, too. He somehow got it into his head that we had taken more pictures of Evie than of him, which just isn't fair, you know. Not being the kind of princess that cowers quietly in the corner during times of strife, Evie went into full battle mode.
It quickly progressed into an actual fistfight, right there on the second floor of the Tower of London. Evie cried a bit and got over it, another part of her modus operandi. Johnny's M.O. is to be mad for a while and stomp and sulk, so we went through that for the last third of the tour. It was fantastic. Oddly, Samuel was an absolute angel. (... until he wanted to climb down a three-story spiral staircase by himself, but that's another story ...)
We ran into this awesome dragon on the third floor, which had a bunch of displays about the different ways the White Tower has been used over the years.
Then it was down the previously mentioned spiral staircase. I had just told Johnny that no, he could not go to the gift shop because his behavior had been so awful, when we reached the exit, which was through the gift shop. I hate places that make you exit through the gift shop.
Here are Caroline and the kids just outside the Tower's gates, with the Tower Bridge in the background.
Here's the Tower of London facing the Thames ...
... and modern London on the opposite South Bank. What a difference!
The Tower of London was wonderful, and I've added it to my list of Places to Visit Again When the Kids Are Grown Up and Gone.
One last little "tragedy" for you. I took Johnny to the bathroom before heading back to the underground. You have to pay to use many of the public toilets here, but the turnstile ate my coin. I had very little patience at this point, so I kicked the machine, earning myself a scolding from the attendant. Evie insisted that she didn't have to use the bathroom ... can you see where this is going?
We walked all the way back to the underground station, where Evie announced that she had to go to the bathroom "really bad." Guess where the nearest toilet was? Right back where we had just been! So we walked all the way back to the bathroom, paid again to get in, and walked all the way back to the station, where I tried to go through the turnstile only to find that I had no money left on my Oyster card.
Caroline says that at this point she was trying really hard not to laugh. It's a good thing she didn't, because I probably wouldn't have taken it well.
We finally got back to Baker Street, where Caroline and I deposited the kids with John and headed out for some grown-up geeking out at Abbey Road Studios ...
... where we left our mark on the wall.
I got a picture of Caroline in the zebra crossing made famous by the Fab Four, which you'll have to wait to see because it's on Caroline's camera. We were going to take my picture, too, but it took so long to get Carrie's that I figured I'd be satisfied with this one of the crazy lady (in hat) who must have crossed 25 times and ruined countless other tourists' attempts. She was hilarious!
This was one of those places where it was just as much fun to watch other people geek out (see post about Platform 9 3/4) as it was to stand in the famous spot. There were all these Beatles fans, young and old, trying to get photos of themselves in the crossing while dodging other fans and lots of traffic. One girl turned to Caroline and said, "I'm so glad I'm not the only one doing this!" It was pretty fun.
On the way home, Carrie and I stopped at the grocery store, where the self-checkout machine broke and Carrie and I had to stand around for 20 minutes while an attendant who clearly didn't know what he was doing tried to take it apart and fix it.
So ended a frustrating but still (miraculously) rather fun day.
Evie is going to type the last words to this post:
signed amy and evie
Friday was an incredible day because we were in an incredible place. The Tower of London, however, is known for tragedy, and we added our own tragedies (large and small) to its long history.
Samuel was the first to be wounded. We came out of the underground and carried the stroller up the stairs in front of us only to discover that they didn't lead to anything more exciting than a sundial. Before carrying him back down the stairs, I thought I'd snap a quick photo of the Tower. This is when Samuel's stroller tipped over and he hit his head on the curb. Mother of the Year, that's me.
Here are Caroline and the kids on their way to the Tower entrance. Notice the cute bag around Evie's neck. It plays the central role in the day's biggest tragedy. Caroline made the bag to match a grown-up version that she gave to me, and Evie fell in love instantly. She carried a notebook (which she pretended was a map), markers, two coins, and a smashed penny she bought at the British Museum. The bag was made of cute fabric with royal guards, crowns, and the London Eye. Adorable.
We made a quick stop for lunch at some shops just behind the ticket booths and then headed over to the Tower. Johnny was impressed with the siege machine (catapult?) set up in the moat.
Johnny and Evie had a fun time playing in the moat while we waited for one of the guided tours to begin. It was at this point that Caroline noticed something missing ... Can you guess what is missing in these pictures?
That's right. Evie's bag! Caroline ran back to where we'd had lunch to see if it was there. No. The tears began, mostly Evie's, but Caroline and I might have shed a few ourselves. Despite several talks with guards, the people at the KFC where we ate lunch, and even the general security manager (who very generously presented poor Evie with a bag and teddy bear), we never found the bag. Evie was emotional all day, and burst into tears about it at random moments through the next couple of days. Tragedy, I tell you!
But it is the Tower of London. Despite the bag's loss, we had to go on! We (and about a thousand other people) took a tour from one of the Yeoman Warders (or Beefeaters), who was full of funny, romantic, and bloody stories from the Tower's history. Johnny loved the tour and kept squeezing through the crowd to get closer to the yeoman. This nearly gave me a heart attack. Thankfully, it did not lead to another Tower tragedy (or execution).
 |
| a Tudor addition |
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| the White Tower, at the center of the complex |
I thought the most impressive part of the tour was the end, when we were allowed to enter the Chapel of St. Peter ad Vincula, where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Lady Jane Grey, and Thomas More are buried. You can only go into the chapel on one of the tours, so I was glad we'd done that.
Here's the Tower Green, where the famous prisoners were executed, with Tower Bridge in the background. You can see that it's raining. It rained on and off through our tour, but not enough to be too annoying.
Here are Caroline and the kids at the Tower Green memorial.
Samuel wasn't too impressed with the Yeoman Warders. Did you know that they and their families actually live at the Tower?
Here's the Queen's House (said to be haunted by the ghosts of Arbella Stuart and Anne Boleyn), complete with guard and one of the famous ravens. Sweet!
 |
| another view of the White Tower |
The jewels were magnificent, of course. We were lucky that the line wasn't too long, so we went through the section with the scepters and crowns twice. I thought the most spectacular was the Imperial Crown of India, though I might be a little biased. The 500-pound punch bowl is taking things a bit far, though, don't you think?
Johnny informed me (correctly) that this foot guard is one of the Coldstream Guards. You can tell by the red plume in his bearskin hat and by the buttons arranged in pairs down the front of his jacket. Johnny learned about the different regiments while we were waiting for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
Johnny was just a fount of information all day, because he also told me that this cannon is a 12-pounder. We walked over to the sign to see if he was right, and he was, of course. I asked how he knew that, and he told me that he remembered how to determine the cannon-ball size from our visit to the Alamo. He can identify a 12-pounder from across the green, but he can't remember to pick up his dirty socks. It's amazing!
On our way to see the armory in the White Tower, we passed by this bit of the ancient Roman wall that William the Conqueror used in his building of the Tower of London.
On the way into the White Tower, Johnny (fount of information, remember?) spotted the staircase where the bones of the two young princes were found. It was kind of creepy.
In the White Tower, we saw royal armor and military uniforms from the Middle Ages right up to the present day, including one of Prince Harry's uniforms. (Ladies, he's still available ... I think.)
Highlights were Henry VIII's tournament armor (dates to 1540), with specially made ... er ... athletic cup ...
... gilded armor that belonged to Charles I (1612), with matching armor for the horse ...
... James II's light infantry armor (1686) ...
... and I've completely forgotten who wore this set (Charles II, maybe), but it's cool, no?
Here are Caroline and the kids in the White Tower while everyone still liked each other. I'm leading up to another small tragedy ...
And here we are peering down a Norman-era toilet. It empties into the moat. Brilliant!
This lovely photo of Evie in front of a collection of spears might seem innocent enough to you, but it's actually the beginning of our next Tower tragedy. Johnny has this "fairness" issue, you see. If Evie has her picture taken alone, he has to has his alone, too. He somehow got it into his head that we had taken more pictures of Evie than of him, which just isn't fair, you know. Not being the kind of princess that cowers quietly in the corner during times of strife, Evie went into full battle mode.
It quickly progressed into an actual fistfight, right there on the second floor of the Tower of London. Evie cried a bit and got over it, another part of her modus operandi. Johnny's M.O. is to be mad for a while and stomp and sulk, so we went through that for the last third of the tour. It was fantastic. Oddly, Samuel was an absolute angel. (... until he wanted to climb down a three-story spiral staircase by himself, but that's another story ...)
We ran into this awesome dragon on the third floor, which had a bunch of displays about the different ways the White Tower has been used over the years.
Then it was down the previously mentioned spiral staircase. I had just told Johnny that no, he could not go to the gift shop because his behavior had been so awful, when we reached the exit, which was through the gift shop. I hate places that make you exit through the gift shop.
Here are Caroline and the kids just outside the Tower's gates, with the Tower Bridge in the background.
 |
| Tower Bridge |
Here's the Tower of London facing the Thames ...
... and modern London on the opposite South Bank. What a difference!
The Tower of London was wonderful, and I've added it to my list of Places to Visit Again When the Kids Are Grown Up and Gone.
One last little "tragedy" for you. I took Johnny to the bathroom before heading back to the underground. You have to pay to use many of the public toilets here, but the turnstile ate my coin. I had very little patience at this point, so I kicked the machine, earning myself a scolding from the attendant. Evie insisted that she didn't have to use the bathroom ... can you see where this is going?
We walked all the way back to the underground station, where Evie announced that she had to go to the bathroom "really bad." Guess where the nearest toilet was? Right back where we had just been! So we walked all the way back to the bathroom, paid again to get in, and walked all the way back to the station, where I tried to go through the turnstile only to find that I had no money left on my Oyster card.
Caroline says that at this point she was trying really hard not to laugh. It's a good thing she didn't, because I probably wouldn't have taken it well.
We finally got back to Baker Street, where Caroline and I deposited the kids with John and headed out for some grown-up geeking out at Abbey Road Studios ...
... where we left our mark on the wall.
I got a picture of Caroline in the zebra crossing made famous by the Fab Four, which you'll have to wait to see because it's on Caroline's camera. We were going to take my picture, too, but it took so long to get Carrie's that I figured I'd be satisfied with this one of the crazy lady (in hat) who must have crossed 25 times and ruined countless other tourists' attempts. She was hilarious!
This was one of those places where it was just as much fun to watch other people geek out (see post about Platform 9 3/4) as it was to stand in the famous spot. There were all these Beatles fans, young and old, trying to get photos of themselves in the crossing while dodging other fans and lots of traffic. One girl turned to Caroline and said, "I'm so glad I'm not the only one doing this!" It was pretty fun.
On the way home, Carrie and I stopped at the grocery store, where the self-checkout machine broke and Carrie and I had to stand around for 20 minutes while an attendant who clearly didn't know what he was doing tried to take it apart and fix it.
So ended a frustrating but still (miraculously) rather fun day.
Evie is going to type the last words to this post:
signed amy and evie
What a sad, tragic day. Don't worry, Evie! Grandma bought some more fabric and Favourite Aunt Carrie will make a new bag for you as soon as she gets back to Texas.
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