LONDON | Touring the U.K. 2019
Saturday, September 14th, 2019
LOCATION: London
ITINERARY:
JOURNAL ENTRY:
Got up around 9 am and began walking around the Underground. We didn't veer right at one intersection like we usually do, so we
ended up south of the Underground station. That was a happy accident because we found a store selling fresh pastries. We bought a lemon cake like thing, a chocolate cupcake and a scone with white frosting and a cherry. Barb liked the lemon cake the best.
Jumped on the Underground to Tower Hill. Toured the Tower of London. Listened to two tour guides to get a better understanding of what the various buildings were used for and what happened on the grounds. There were numerous beheadings, hangings, drawing and quarterings. A small tower showed some of the tortures of stretching and crushing. [Barb's favorite. :) ]
Heard on a TV show later that night that the Chappel in the Tower of London is open late on a specific day to commemorate the death of Anne Boleyn. A lady comes in and offers prayers on Anne's behalf and for others who were wrongly accused and executed.
We didn't see the Crown Jewels since the line was too long for our liking. In the moat area around the castle, they had a food festival. We tried some meat pastries that were very good. Then walked over to the Tower Bridge to take a tour of the bridge and the engine room.
It was interesting to learn that families grew up working on and maintaining the Tower Bridge and the two steam engines that once raised both road sections. Prior to modernization, the bridge sections could be raised to an angle of 86 degrees in 60 seconds. With automation, it takes 90 seconds. Raising and lowering now requires an operator pushing a joy stick in the right direction. I spose there are a few other buttons involved.
You can walk across both upper walkways. Barb liked the plexiglass floor in one of the walkways. We watched from above as they raised the bridge to let some boats cross at 5:00 pm. Got a nice video. They also added a mirror on the ceiling above the plexiglass floor. I suspect this was to allow people with traditional cameras to take selfies of themselves standing on the see-through floor. Maybe? :) Then went to check out the old steam engines that were kept for display and historical purposes. They showed the original method for raising the bridge before it was modernized.
At the base of the bridge, we found a vegan restaurant called Vapiano. They gave you each a card and you went to the various stations to order your food and watch them make it. Once the order was done, you placed your card on the reader and it kept track of everything. Once you were done eating, you turned in the cards to the cashier and paided. A quite ingenious way to do it. The food was very good!
There was a pasta, pizza, salad and drink bar. Phil got a Margherita Pizza with Coca Cola. Barb got a Caprese Salad with an Appletiser (Sparkling apple juice). Yum!!
Then we walked back to the Tower Hill Underground and rode to Kings Cross. Found the "Harry Potter" shop at Platform 9 3/4, which is at the actual Kins Cross rail station. Bought a Hufflepuff bookmark for Marissa.
For a few pounds, you can have your picture taken while holding onto the back half of a shopping cart bolted into the wall. Add a scarf of suitable color and length and a wand, of course, and the look is complete. Now all you dois look back over your shoulder so the camera can see that it's you posing, and not one of the 100's of other people waiting in line.
Option B is that you pretend that you failed epically. You hold onto the cart with your right hand, balance all of your weight on your right foot, while you pretend that the left half of you has smashed into the wall. This usually means you're pressing the end of the scarf against the wall with your raised left hand, while still holding the wand and looking back over your shoulder so the camera can tell it's you. Three pictures for 20 pounds. One of the staff said that the line extends out the door and down the street during the holidays!!! Think we should set something like that up at the local Jewel!!!
Started to head back to the Underground when we decided to investigate the large building next to the station. It was the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. An absolutely beautiful structure, at least from the outside! Barb found some history about it on the Pokemon Go game.
Went back to the hotel and stopped at the "Cromwell House", kiddie corner to our rooms. It was where Alfred Hitchcock lived with his family. They occupied the top two floors of the four story appartments. Don't remember seeing any sign designating that spot.
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The blurry photos are due to a new phone app I was using to take the pictures. It looked in focus when I took the shot. |
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