Following the Pack

I have spent the last two weekends in London and have been able to tick off many of the Must Sees of the 21st century tourist making their pilgrimage to London. I followed the crowds through Westminster, the Tower of London, the British Museum, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Picadilly Circus, Covent Garden, the Tate Modern, Borough Markets (twice! - and yes, it really is that good!), Princess Di's Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, and past St Pauls.

Westminster was incredible. Ten pounds to get in (a bit tough, but worth it) and my mouth literally dropped open once I stepped inside. I'm not big on churches, for some reason they kind of freak me out and the amount of memorials and tombs in the Abbey should have been unsettling. Instead I found the throngs of tourists the unsettling part. Who am I to complain, I was one of them. It was difficult however to really soak in the atmosphere of this building with hundreds of people pushing past each other to get a good look at the internal architecture, memorials and tombs; to have a bite to eat in the cafe; and buy a postcard or a miniture Abbey at the gift shop. Whoever built the church so many centuries ago would never have been able to foresee what it was to become.

On the plus side, Westminster really does a good job of displaying a who's who of English history... from the various monarchs who ruled the nation, to cultural icons such as Shakespeare and Chaucer, to the unnamed soldier who represents everyday people - everyone who has had a role in shaping the nation seems to have found a final home at Westminster.

The Tower of London was probably my highlight. It is hard to leave a building whose foundation was started by England's first King off the agenda... even at £15 per person admission!

We took a tour with a yeoman warder, who's story intrigued me... apparently these warders have to have served with the British SAS (or similar - fancypants military service basically) for a minimum of 20 or 25 years to apply for a position. For every position that becomes available, there will be 100 applicants, 6 will make the cut to interview stage and then 1 will actually get the job! I'm not sure what the attraction is, they have to wear a very silly looking outfit, and of course they no longer actually protect the Queen/King/reigning Monarch as she lives elsewhere, so it would seem they spend their days giving guided tours to scores of visitors. They get to live within the Tower though, which must be quite exciting, but even that novelty would wear off eventually...

The tour was very interesting... at first I thought tours were a bit cheesy, but have since found that hearing stories from someone with enthusiasm and inside knowledge really helps to make some of these historic buildings come alive.

Afterwards, we made our way through the White Tower - which was the very first part of the Tower of London and almost 1000 years old! 'Tower of London' really is a bit of a misleading name as once you get inside it really feels like you are inside a small town surrounded by walls. There are cobble-stoned streets and buildings have been added continuously throughout the centuries. We also wandered through the building which houses the crown jewels. That was pretty impressive! Some of the crowns and other jewels that they had on display where so ornate that they bordered on ridiculous... the gems were so big, it was hard to believe they were real!

I think you could spend a lifetime living in London and still not uncover all that it has to offer... so what chance do I have with the few months that I have left?!?! I will just have to do my best... and I'm already planning my next weekend trip!