The Crown Jewels and Other London Attractions

This Saturday, we rode the First Great Western train from Oxford to London to visit the Tower of London. The train was full so Matthew and I stood for most of the journey. The train had no fans or air conditioning so we didn't mind standing near the open windows at the end of the car. The ride is only 45 minutes to Paddington Station. We ate a baguette sandwich at the station then boarded the Circle Line underground train to Tower Hill.

The underground was also busy but much more cool than the First Great Western train.

The Tower Hill underground station is directly across the street from the Tower of London.

The entrance to the Tower is near the River Thames. The Tower bridge is in the background.

The Olympic rings are much larger than I expected them to be.

This building contains the crown jewels. It is surrounded by a moat, an outer wall, an inner wall, and...

...is well protected. There were soldiers and Yeomen Warders everywhere.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the building. The many jewels can be seen here - http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/stories/crownjewels

The London City Hall as viewed from the White Tower; the large, square structure in the middle of the  grounds. I think I saw Mayor Boris Johnson looking back at me.

This centre building (White Tower) was the historical armoury of the King of England and is now a museum filled with armor and weapons. Matthew liked the interactive displays.

We were in the right place at the right time again to see the changing of the guard.  The temperature was 87 degrees F and I was very warm. I am glad I was not wearing a wool uniform and bearskin hat!

The outer wall near the river was, at one time, the residence of the royal family.  They had a nice view of the River Thames. Note that the Olympic rings are retracting to allow a ship to pass through the drawbridge

Lori is standing on the inner wall with the White Tower in the background.

London, the old and the new. The outer wall of the Tower and London's newest building called The Shard.

If you look closely, you can see the sail of the Chinese flagged sailing vessel approaching the bridge. 

After approx. 4 hours at the Tower, we rode the underground to Covent Garden to find a restaurant. We changed trains at St. Pancras Station, which was a minor mistake. So many people use that station that our train was filled to capacity. I have only been that close to complete strangers a few other times in my life, the last time was on the underground during the train drivers strike.

Covent Gardens is an Italian-style Piazza not far from Picadilly Circus. We ate an Italian meal at an outdoor cafe across the street from St. Paul's Church where street performers entertained us during our meal. We saw a tightrope walker and a man who placed a tennis racket over his head and pulled it down over his body and off over his feet! The streets were filled with people to the point it was almost hard to walk. After dinner, we explored the market shops to help settle our stomachs. The Food Network was filming on the opposite end of the piazza.

http://www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/

http://www.actorschurch.org/

We saw many people with m&m World bags so we asked where it was. The store is located in Leicester Square, about 1/2 mile from Covent Garden, so we started walking west. A pedicab driver (pedal-powered tricycle cab) offered us a reasonably priced ride, so the three of squeezed in the back seat.

We set out into traffic amongst the famous black cabs.

m&m World is four floors of candy, merchandise, and entertainment!

Dancing m&ms! There is not enough room for everyone to join in.

What fun. I just expected to find a large candy store.

The supermarkets do not carry our favorite peanut m&ms but there were plenty to choose from here.

A kid in a candy shop.

Since it was after 8 pm, we walked to Piccadilly Circus to catch the Tube back to Paddington. The train to Oxford was full and REALLY needed some more windows that open. We were hot and tired as we arrived back in Oxford at 10 pm. Fortunately, the air temperature was starting to cool so we can sleep comfortably to recover from our big day in the big city.