Tower of London (29 Apr)
We are living outside of London central in a town called Chigwell – tube stop is Grange Hilll. It’s about a 15 minute walk from our flat to the tube. And it seems to be about an hour ride on the tube, no matter where we want to go. Although it took us about an hour walking from the train to find the flat the first night!
On our walk we go past a small grocery, a synagogue, a few row houses with front gardens and through a lovely green park-like area. I really like seeing all the little daisies growing in the park; they are the ones with the long, white petals that have purple underneath – perfect for making daisy chains.
Our first foray into London was to the London Tower. It is much more massive in person! I tend to forget that it is more than just one tower, at times it was a little village within those walls.
The kids really got into it all – we picked up the “trail” or activity book and they each got a badge, or pin. The girls’ read “Practicing Princess” and Chayton’s read “Apprentice Knight.”
Our Yeoman (or Beefeater’s) Tour was quite fun – and funny. He gave us insight with a bit of humor into the history of the Tower. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror to show his strength. After that, a few more buildings were added. One is the Chapel of St. Peter:
“Three queens of England; Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Jane Grey, and the remains of two saints of the Roman Catholic Church, Sir Thomas More and John Fisher, are buried in the Chapel’s environs.”
The Queens were executed at the Tower and then buried there. It was an interesting feeling to imagine sitting/standing where all those historic people had been.
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