a first class anniversary: Quick Boat ride on the Thames

After our visit to the Tower of London we headed to Westminster Abbey. Instead of taking the tube we decided to take a boat up the Thames so we could see some of the sites. There was a ship right in front of the Tower of London and in honor of my dad I took several pictures of it :) I really enjoyed the ride. We didn't get to see much of Westminster Abbey since we had High Tea reservations and had to get back to the hotel to change. But it looked very lovely all lit up at night.

 

A first class anniversary: Tower of London

One of my favorite things we did on our trip was visit the Tower of London. We took one of the Yeoman tours which was very interesting and funny (I know it sounds weird to say that a tour of the Tower of London was funny, but it was)

Something that I thought was interesting was that the Yeoman guards live at the Tower of London and are locked in every night with their families. Our tour guide (the picture of the man in the funny hat is of our guide) said it's great cause every night he knows exactly where his teenage daughter is.

Below are pictures of the Bell Tower. One of my favorite plays is a Man for All Seasons which is about the last days of Sir Thomas More before he was beheaded. This is the tower that he stayed in.

Of course we checked out the Royal Jewels. Jeff was a little disappointed that they didn't have very many and thought what they had wasn't that impressive. They basically just had the coronation crowns and "toys" :) However, I was impressed. The picture below is of Jeff and the guard in front of the entrance to where they house the jewels (picture to the left is the place where the jewels are kept)

I had a to take a picture of the ravens. Supposedly there is a belief that when there are less then six ravens at the tower the kingdom will fall. So, the Yeoman guards are responsible for guaranteeing that there are always six ravens on the grounds at all times. They even have cages for them.

Below is a picture of the excution site memorial (right) and the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula (left). The execuation site memorial is for the royals that were beheaded at the Tower of London. King Henry the Eighth Second and Fifth wives (Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard) were among the Royals that were killed here. Their remains are buried in the Chapel Royal of St. Peter

A first class anniversary: Hyde Park

After our trip to Kensington Palace we walked through Hyde Park. (Kensignton Palace is located at one of the ends of the park) The park was so beautiful with all the fall colors. Unfortunately we arrived right when it was getting dark so I wasn't able to get all the pictures I wanted. Since I didn't have my tripod a lot of pictures turned out kind of blurry.

Once we left Kensington Palace we came across a large lake with a bunch of swans. It was so beautiful. People were feeding them so some were out of the water kind of "attaching" people. I secretly wished my sister was there cause she is terrified of birds and it would have been a good laugh.

One of the things I wanted to see in London was the Peter Pan statue. (confession: I always wanted to see this after watching the Mary Kate and Ashley Winning London Movie. I secretly love that movie. Don't tell Jeff!) I was totally upset cause it was almost pitch black by the time we found the statue. I guess I will have to go back in the daylight sometime :)

The picture below is the view the Peter Pan statue stares at all day

 

I really like Hyde Park. :)