Checking Out The Family Jewels...

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day in London! Tensions were running high after so many long days...

We headed off early this am and took the tube over to The Tower of London.

We had some hints from the handy Frommer's London guide book (thank you Claudette!) to arrive early, buy tickets at the tube station and head directly to the Crown Jewels. The Crown Jewel exhibit is spectacular! We managed to walk right in and take our time enjoying all the exhibit had to offer....300 carat diamonds, jewel encrusted crowns, diamond scepters, gold punch bowl that holds 140 bottles of wine, baptismal basin, gold chalices and beautiful coronation rings.

We then toured around the towers which were used for many purposes throughout history, not the least of which was torture, imprisonment and a palace for King Edward the I. We were able to see the changing of the guard at the Crown Jewels and stood where Anne Boleyn (hot mess), second wife of King Henry VIII was beheaded. The prison towers had graffiti carving from prisoners including priests, nobility, astronomers and government officials. Elaborate carving into the stone walls included bible passages, planetary scenes, crucifixes and philosophical thoughts.

Back at our flat, Caitlin took an afternoon nap, she's had a bit of a cold, (the skinny go down first), Wayne headed to a pub just off the corner of our flat and I made my way to a small church, St. Martin's in The Field. We have walked ourselves all over London! Yesterday was the first day we took the tube! Our flat location has been wonderful and the weather has been in the 70's with low humidity with about 15-20 minutes of drizzle all week!

When I returned, both my travel mates were fast asleep. Once I roused them, we decided to head to the British Museum. Unfortunately, they recently changed the closing time and we were unable to enter the museum. Our first fail of our trip! Fortunately, we came upon a lovely restaurant called Prezzo and had a relaxing dinner. We tubed back to take our ride on the London Eye. I have been wanting to try to ride the Eye at dusk and we managed to time it perfectly! The lights of London were just magical!

Off to bed for a good night's sleep as we head in to our last day in London!