Went to the Towers

Today we stopped at the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the HMS Belfast.  These three sites are all within a few blocks of each other.  We took the underground Circle line to Tower Hill and were only a few blocks from the entrance to the Tower of London.

I always thought the Tower of London was just a tower but it’s actually a 900+ year old castle that used to be the home of the royals.  There are a few significant buildings on site. The white tower is the main building that now houses exhibits about the kings and the weapons used over the centuries.  There was also a building that houses the crown jewels.  These are the crowns, jewels and other decorative items used by the royals during their coronation.  We also walked along the top of  the outer walls which gave use great views of the grounds and the Tower Bridge.

It’s was time for lunch and we were not near anything that was considered good and cheap.  As we have learned, eating out in London is not cheap.   We have been to most of the local grocery chains for dinner and breakfast food and they all have a grab and go area with pre made sandwiches which seems really popular. Tesco was the closest store so we stopped by for sandwiches.  They have a lunch bundle deal for £3 which included a sandwich,  chips/fruit, and a pop.  We took our food to the park next to the river Thames.  £12 for lunch for four was finally the cheap lunch we were looking for.

I also learned that the London Bridge from the childhood song isn’t the same classic designed bridge that you see in all the London photos.   That is called the Tower Bridge. The tour of the bridge include a walk or elevator ride up one of the towers and access to the two suspended walkways between the two Towers.  The walkways have a section with a glass floor so you can see below.  Lots of visitors were laying on this floor taking selfies.

Our last visit was the HMS Belfast.  It’s a decommissioned war ship from WW2.  Everyone enjoyed exploring the ship and leaning about its role during the war.

We finally headed home, ironically we crossed the actual London Bridge which is a nondescript modern concrete bridge.