Alaska: The Tower of London

My first stop in London after church on Sunday was the Tower of London. Again, I went here on a suggestion. Thank you, Nathaniel. I probably would have ended up here, but I wouldn't have seen nearly as much as I did. The Tower of London is quite the place. This is where some very famous people were imprisoned and killed. If you were sent to the Tower of London, it was most likely a death sentence. Very few prisoners left here alive. Despite its bloody, gory history, nowadays this is where the crown jewels are kept. SO COOL!!! It was totally worth coming here just to see those. You aren't allowed to take pictures, but as you're waiting to get in to see them, they play a video of the Queen's coronation. I didn't realize how simple our ceremonies are. Talk about pomp and circumstance!! There were ladies in waiting dressed in white and men dressed in Victorian clothing - complete with powdered wigs. It was like stepping back in time. She had on a trailing cloak and she was given a scepter and they put the crown on her head and it looked really heavy. I'm glad she doesn't have to wear it everyday. Anyway, if you go to London this is a must see! I've posted some pictures of things I was allowed to photograph.

The Tower of London

The moat that surrounds the Tower of London.

The wall around the Tower of London.

Another view of the Tower of London.

The Medieval Palace. This is where the royal family slept.

This is where King Henry VIII sat his bloody behind.

This is where Henry begged forgiveness for killing everybody.

This is the Queen's House. I believe that the green lawn in front is where people were beheaded.

Here are the famous ravens of the Tower of London.

This sign is in Russian, so naturally, I had to take a picture.

A toilet. I've seen worse.

This lion was cool. I believe the lion was also the symbol of Richard IIIs reign.

This crest is cool, so I took a picture and put it on here for your viewing pleasure.

Prisoners in the Tower of London would inscribe notes, bible verses, thoughts, pictures, whatever they felt like, really, on the walls of the Tower while they were waiting to be executed.

This is how they let people into the Tower of London.

Prisoners were brought by boat through here: Traitor's Gate. Elizabeth I was brought here before she became Queen. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed here. Elizabeth was one of the very few lucky ones to leave alive.

I wanted a picture of this suit of armour and those dang people WOULD NOT MOVE!!!!!

There were floors of weapons that they used during the time the Tower of London was used actively. I decided not to post 18 pictures and just posted this one as a representative of the weapons.

Aaaahhh ... the chopping block. This used to be on the execution site (remember the green lawn?) but it has been moved into the White Tower. I'm really glad we don't do public beheadings - or any beheadings, for that matter - anymore. Gross!

This church was pretty so I took a picture. I was surprised that there was a church here. Well, not really surprised, I guess, but it does seem strange that you'd have a church and an execution site housed all cozy in the same tower. Kill them off then ask for forgiveness maybe???