Our visit to the Tower of London started out as one of the gloomiest days we'd seen yet (see the first picture below), but luckily, the sun peeked through the clouds as we made our way through the crowds and those foreboding stone walls. The Tower of London is crowded with tourists, but it's just one of those places you have to go when you visit London. There is nothing quite like the history and tradition you will find here, and the Crown Jewels are absolutely incredible. The Beefeater tours are highly entertaining and highly informative too, and are definitely not to be missed.
Because we made our visit with young children, and because our primary motivation for being there was to see the crown jewels with our princess-obsessed daughter, we tried to dwell on the more positive parts of the history there. There's not much of that! However, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the charm and beauty of the Tower of London site that I hadn't seen before by trying to forget the gloom and doom of its history. It's still an official royal residence, after all.
After our visit, we took a water taxi from Tower Bridge to Enbankment (right near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament), and I'd highly recommend it!
Have you ever wondered what the zig zags on London streets are for? They are to alert drivers that they are nearing a crosswalk. Very exciting. We lived just off the Marylebone High Street this summer. Isn't it gorgeous?
