Tower Bridge

It had been a little while since I had ticked off something new from my Top 100 book and with Shea recently ticking off her London Bucket list she had given me inspiration to do something I had never done - see the Tower Bridge open and close. I'd wandered past the Tower Bridge before and sat at pubs with a view of it but never seen it open and close. Once I realised this I was itching to go so I looked it up online to see the next date and luckily it was only two weekends away.

It was opening at 9.50am so it was a pretty early start for me to get to the other side of London but luckily Lauren my PIC (partner in crime) I made it in time. It was cool to see it open and close but it was a bit of an anti-climax with it happening so quickly. It took all of 5 minutes to go up and down but a highlight was watching the navy soldiers wave to us from the ship passing through.

After snapping a few photos we took refuge from the drizzle and decided to tick off another thing in my Top 100 and visit the Tower of London. I vaguely remember visiting when I was younger (I think - that is how vague it was)so it was good to check it out again. It was £20 entry which I thought was a bit steep but still wanted to check it out.











We arrived just as a guided tour was about to start so we decided to follow one of the Beef Eaters who guard the castle and hear some stories. About five minutes in after getting shoved out the way by fat american tourists and my foot run over by a pram we decided to bail and take it at our own pace.

The next couple of hours we spent wandering around the turrets of the tour, visiting the kings apartments, the royal beasts exhibit but of course the best part about the Tower was the crown jewel exhibit. They are just so sparkly! It was really cool to get up and close with some gorgeous jewelry. We weren't the only ones who wanted to see them but to keep the crowds at bay they have installed a travelator which was ingenious! Because other wise I would be stuck there starting at the crowns for ages.

We also checked out the Ravens that have been stationed at the Tower and who are specially trained to keep guard. They were kind of freaky if you ask me but a tradition is a tradition!

Was glad to tick a couple of things off my Top 100 and see an iconic part of London. Sometimes I get so bogged down with work and social things that I often don't stop to think - wow I'm in London and seeing the bridge go up and visiting one of the Royal palaces definitely made it hit home.