London Times | Tower Of London and the South Bank

It's day 3 of our adventure in the UK and we head to the Tower of London to explore the centuries old fortress that houses the crown jewels. I visited once before - in 1989 and the longevity of the structure never ceases to amaze me. In the US, we think that the historic sites in Boston and Philadelphia are old at circa 200 years old. 200 years in the UK is still quite young - the Tower of London was built around 1000 years ago.

From the outside, you cannot see the beautiful structures that await inside the stone walls. Once inside you are greeted to towers that housed monarchs and prisoners.

The Grand White Tower:


Beautiful stained glass details:


A fabulous view of the Tower Bridge is seen from one of the castle walks:


We did visit the exhibit of the Crown Jewels, however, photography is not allowed in the exhibit so you'll just have to take my word that they are amazing.

Next, we walked across the Tower Bridge to the south bank of the Thames. London, for being so massive in size, is still a walkable city - the Queen's walkway along the south bank takes advantage of the views along the water. You pass by numerous cafes and shopping areas all with prime views of the water:


I spotted these revelers in front of the Tate Modern:


We crossed back over to the North side, along the Waterloo suspension footbridge:


From there, we entered the Embankment Tube Station and headed back home.