Thursday, October 13, 2011

Day 3 in London--10/3/11

Today was a super busy day!  We started off by going to the Tower Bridge.
Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Next to the Tower Bridge is The Tower of London, a castle that's about a thousand years old.  It used to be a royal residence and also used as a prison.  Many people were executed there, usually by chopping off their heads, including Anne Boleyn, a wife of Henry VIII.  The Tower of London is also where they house the Crown Jewels.  One special piece included a 530 carat flawless diamond!
Outside the Tower of London

Outside the Tower of London

Our Tour Guide



An Old-Fashioned Toilet

Place where people were beheaded

Famous  Tower of London Ravens--this bird was scary!

From the Tower of London, we went to the British Museum.  We didn't have a lot of time there, but we saw the essentials, which included the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone.  The Elgin Marbles are from the Parthenon in Greece, and apparently Greece wants them back.  The Rosetta Stone is what helped scientists "crack the code" to be able to decipher hieroglyphics.  The museum in and of itself was a beautiful structure!  Unfortunately, the famous Reading Room in the museum is closed for the next three years because they are having some special exhibit in there.  Bummer!  I really wanted to see it and imagine the people who had previously used it being there, such as Karl Marx and Mark Twain.
Front of the British Museum
Inside the British Museum

Rosetta Stone

Room with the Elgin Marbles

Part of the Elgin Marbles

We made a pit stop at a local pub after the museum and then it was on to Kings Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. 
Pub across the street from the British Museum

We were so tired at the end of the day we ended up having dinner at the restaurant at our hotel.  It was an Asian restaurant and I had the best fried rice with bok choy I have ever had! 

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