The London Eye was first built for the new Millennium, and the futuristic Ferris wheel dominates the London skyline - a bit controversial for some, but hey so was the Eiffel Tower in its time! Normally the lines for this "ride" wrap around the block, but we chose to go a little later in the day and when the weather was a little drizzly. Not to say that anytime in London the weather is anything but drizzle...but apparently tourists like to avoid the Eye in the rain. There is a very "exciting" 3D video you watch and then up you go! On our ride we had a child that was a little whiny, but other than that it was really amazing! The view was great, even if there were a few raindrops on the windows. If you are into seeing skylines from above this is a must, but not really worth waiting for hours to get on if you ask my opinion. We were lucky to be able to walk right on, and I would have loved to see it at night since it is open late for those city light seekers! Here are a few amazing photos of the skyline!
Next we visited two museums - the National Gallery and the British Museum. The National Gallery is extremely overwhelming when you first enter as there are thousands upon thousands of paintings lining hundreds of rooms, but we opted to download Rick Steves' podcast on the National Museum. He walks you through each room and directs you to the more famous or most interesting photos and explains each one. It was sort of like having a tour guide, but one with a great sense of humor and knowledge about not just art but history. I highly recommend that if you want to see a museum but want to do it in an hour - Rick Steves' tours are free and easy to follow. We also used Rick's British Museum tour for the first part of our British Museum experience. The British Museum is very big and overwhelming. I'm not much for Museums...and this is the ULTIMATE MUSEUM. Rick's tour takes you through Ancient Egypt, Rome, and a little of Ancient Asia. Again, Rick is a funny guy, so this was a great way to say I went to a museum without having to actually read the little descriptions or pay for the audio guide. We went back the next day to do our own tour, but really Rick's was pretty awesome so we didn't spend too much time there. What more could you ask for - a free and entertaining tour that gets you in and out in about two hours!
The London Tower was my one MUST DO experience in London. I have a love for Royal History, and the London Tower is crawling with history and of course the crown jewels! The fortress is still standing and though it has had a few changes over the years, it still maintains some of the historical pieces that make it absolutely stunning! After watching The Tudors on Showtime I was excited to see where Anne Boleyn spent her last hours, where the traitors were brought in by boat, and also where the executions took place right out in public! Over flowing with French School children that like to push and shove their way past you, it was hard to really take it all in, but again once the London skies opened up we had the place pretty much to ourselves and everyone darted for the refreshments.
The Crown Jewels were amazing. Amazing. The way they showcased them with showing Queen Elizabeth's coronation and outlining the line of Royals in the entrance, you really start to appreciate the ceremony involved in just a few pieces of jewelry. Most people pushed past us to get to see the jewels, but we took our time to watch the presentations and it really is worth it! There is no photography, so sorry no photos, which means everyone needs to go themselves! The crowns are very large covered in diamonds and precious jewels that have been handed down through each Royal Family. You ride a conveyor belt past them, most people gawking and then leaving, but we rode it twice, going on each side. I only wish I could have tried them on...I'm sure the Queen wouldn't mind! It is exciting to think that when Charles or William get crowned they will be using these jewels - and I saw them!
The Tower of London also have a pretty impressive collection of armory in the White Tower. You can see how the armor has changed over the years, and also the size of the royals! Henry the XII was a pretty big guy who also really liked to show off his "family jewels". I have a few photos, but it is really impressive in person!
We were unable to go and see where Anne was buried as you have to be on the Beefeaters tour, which we didn't take since there wasn't one happening when we first arrived. The Beefeaters apparently live in the Tower, and from a few of the buildings you can see the lives of today mixed with the buildings of yesterday. Very strange as we would never have people living in our national monuments like this...well other than the White House of course! There is also a raven keeper that takes care of the ravens. There is an old tale that London would fall if there weren't ravens at the Tower, so there are of course ravens. There are a lot of stories of the ravens, and apparently they are very intelligent. They like to steal things from the visitors and also can mock different sounds like dogs or machinery which they like to taunt people with. We didn't see any of this...but they are very pretty!
Though the Tower is beautiful, it does have a very frightening past with several prisoners and executions in the main lawn. They actually have the "chopping block" in the museum which you can see had been well used...pretty crazy! They now have a memorial on the site of where most executions happened, so you can literally see where many lost their lives We also got to visit the tower where many were kept before their executions. This of course had a wonderful view of the chopping block! The Tower was very fun and a great glimpse into life before the USA was even thought of - and I highly recommend it!
After the Tower, we decided to do something a little different - visit a Football Club. We rode the subway to Chelsea to see the Chelsea Football Club. It was a neat little ride as most people on the train were locals since we got away from the touristy sections of London. A short walk to the stadium and you can see just how much Football means to Europeans. They have some exciting photo ops outside...which we were excited to use! They really should have more photo sites like this in Europe...maybe places you can stick your head through so it looks like you are wearing the crown jewels or something...anyway....
The tour of Chelsea was very inexpensive but very informative! They took us through the entire stadium including the players locker rooms and the pitch. They had a museum with Seattle Sounders scarves since the Sounders played Chelsea last year. It was fun to see - a little taste of home! We have some great photos of the experience, and I highly recommend it!
From London we caught a flight up to Edinburgh, Scotland. More to come on the beautiful and amazing Scotland!
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