THE TOWER AND THE THAMES

I want to take you with me again and this time we are going to London to explore that fabulous city. By now I had become rather confident about riding the train and I wanted to see the Tower of London, so off I went. Going to London and not seeing the Tower is like going to New York and not seeing the Statue of Liberty. Of course, we all know the Tower is the place where Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey and a bunch of others lost their heads. For a few moments there I thought maybe I had lost mine, in a manner of speaking. The first thing I learned was that the Tower is actually a castle and the only one in the city of London.

I got on a riverboat with at least fifty people and rode up the River Thames looking at interesting sights, some which I had read about and some I'd never heard of. The "freeman", as those who work the ferries call themselves, gave a great running commentary on everything we passed. He had a delightful accent which told me he was from the East End of London. They replace the letters "th" with an "f" sound and it's very different. For example, "with" becomes "wiff". Ah, but I digress.

I didn't know that Sir Francis Drake's galleon, the Golden Hind, was docked on the Thames and is now a museum. They claim it is the original so I'll take that because it's more fun to believe. There is also a replica of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and it is the only building in London which has a thatched roof. They did not allow any more to be built after all of London burned down in 1666. Painted on the wharf at the Tower is a sign "Entry to traitor's gate". That's where they offloaded those who were to be executed like the aforementioned unfortunates. They have a wonderful display of the Crown jewels which are just phenomenal. To see them you must stand on a moving ramp that takes you past the jewls at a slow pace. No photos allowed. 

On this jaunt I didn't get lost or miss a train or bus so it was a successful day and I am so pleased that I had the chance to see much history.




Comments

  1. Quita SNMay 17, 2021 at 1:43 PM

    How fun! I'd love to ride the riverboat for a tour!

    ReplyDelete

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