July 7

July 7 - London

Click a picture to see a larger view.

Along the Thames at night

We quickly realized London offered too much to see in three days. Like our native DC, it’s not even enough to punch your ticket on the tourist must-see sights, but we tried.

The one must-see site is the Tower of London. As a part of The Original Bus Tour, you may make one free trip on a sightseeing boat on the Thames We decided to take advantage of our cruise ticket to go up river to see The Tower. Along the way, we enjoyed sites like Parliament, best seen from the river.

Views from along the Thames

This was the first anniversary of the terrorist subway bombings in London. As we stepped off the boat and into the ticket area for the Tower, there was an announcement for a two-minute moment of silence in memory of that tragedy. It was an announcement that we did not understand much to our embarrassment as we wondered why no one was moving. It was on this day last year that we heard the news of the bombing while at a sidewalk café in Malta. It was an event that we will remember where-we-were-when.

Within The Tower grounds, a Beefeater guard is your guide, but you are free to break away from your group at any time and wander about on your own; however, the Beefeaters are an amusing lot (not unusual for guides we encountered in England) and add entertainment value as well as historical background.

The Tower is something of misnomer for this place since there are a series of buildings with no one of them actually containing a prominent tower. The Towers of London would be more like it. However, this site has ancient significance. There are remnants of walls built by the Romans when they settled the town and named it Londinium. William the Conqueror built a large portion of The Tower soon after taking over things in 1066. Subsequent kings and queens added notoriety to the place by whom they imprisoned or beheaded there. Sir Walter Raleigh was a guest of the prison on several occasions and Henry VIII received final annulment at the chopping block here for two of his marriages.

Only the well-to-do notables enjoyed beheading at The Tower. The masses were chopped or hanged just up the hill outside of The Tower. Up until 1745, over 20,000 people were hanged there, the youngest being an eight-year-old boy who was dispatched for stealing handkerchiefs. The last person beheaded in London was a nobleman who began laughing when the viewing stand collapsed and everyone was piled one on the other. He laughed all the way through the execution. Hence the phrase “laughing one’s head off.”

It seems public executions added a couple of other expressions to the vernacular. The to-be-hanged were taken to the execution site on a wagon. People gave the doomed passengers booze to ease the ordeal. That’s why today one has “one for the road.” The driver did not imbibe since he was “on the wagon.”

Back at The Tower, we finished the tour by seeing the crown jewels. Here again “The Tower” is misleading since the jewels are displayed in one corner of a central building at ground level. Nonetheless, you will not see more diamonds and record-breaking precious stones anywhere else.

After leaving The Tower, we hopped back on the tour bus and found our way to the War Cabinet Room. This is the underground headquarters for Churchill and the military commanders during World War II. It does take you back to that time as you view the original furnishings. One large room has recently been turned into a museum containing extensive information on Churchill and his times.

That evening, we took in a play. We ate at Porters, a restaurant offering a dinner and show package. (You can book such packages on the Internet ahead of your trip.) We ate an assortment of standard English food with odd names. Ellen had the bangers and mash and I dined on beef faggots. Dining has improved in London, but not at places like Porters. There you get the food that gave English food the unfortunate reputation it has today. Joke: In heaven, the lovers are Italian, the British run the government, the Germans run the trains, and the chefs are French. In hell, the lovers are the Germans, the Italians run the government, the French run the trains, and the chefs are British.

The play was The Lady in Black. It was a two-man performance, not counting the eponymous Lady who makes brief cameo appearances. With no more than the actors telling of a tale and a few sound effects, you had a scary evening. Not a bad event. It has been running for years. Try it out