I took a tour of the city by bus today. A Big Bus. It was a flexible hop-on hop-off route that basically provided transport to the main city sites, and I didn't feel like too much of a Contiki tourist.I stopped at Picadilly Circus where I made a romantic demand of the statue of Eros, moved along to Buckingham Palace where I took a walking tour of the Royal Palaces and watched, from behind the scenes, the Changing of the Guard (no, this doesn't include good-looking Bobbys in their briefs. For that you will have to head to Leicester Square by night). I hopped back onto the bus toward Parliament Square to check out Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and made my way along to St. Paul's Cathedral and its massive, glittering dome.
Finally I continued west over the relatively driveling London Bridge to the more impressive Tower Bridge and on to the London Tower, which was probably the highlight of the day. This picture shows the side of the 11th century fortressed tower which imprisoned hundreds of criminals, many of whom were dissident members of the aristocracy and church. The tower remains home to the Royal Jewels including the First and Second Jewels of Africa, the two largest diamonds in the world. It is also home to a group of present day Beefeaters and their families, who have met The Queen's rigorous stipulations in order to become official citizens of the Tower of London. Their responsibility to guard the Jewels requires that they and their resident families are locked into the fortressed pseudo-city on a ten o'clock curfew each night.
One of these gentleman Beefeaters, who only somewhat sarcastically describes his home as "the best place in the world to raise a teenage daughter," provided an animated tour of the tower with stories of women and men who were imprisoned and tortured here centuries ago. The history was phenomenal.
Among the imprisoned and executed were Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's former wife, contentiously charged and beheaded in a clean sweep for adultery, treason, and incest. She also happens to receive mention in one of my favorite tunes by Tori Amos,"Talula:"
Ran into the Henchman who severed Anne Boleyn
He did it right quickly
A merciful man
She said that one plus one is two
But Henry said
That it was three
So it was
Here I am
