The Tower of London
There’s a lot to fit in and this is a bit late. After Stonehenge on the Saturday, and the visit to Whipsnade Zoo on Sunday (not even on the list), I followed up on Monday with more walking with a trip to Ashridge Forest (also not on the list). I used to go there with Oliver and Amy when they were young. A very nice relaxed day.
Tuesday I headed off from my Aylesbury Travelodge to one in Covent Garden in London. I had an early check in so that I could dump my bags and head off to meet Lorraine for our Tower of London trip (on the list!).
Before heading off to the Tower we grabbed some street food from Borough Market, which is worth being on anyone’s list, although wasn't actually on mine. We managed to pick a very messy pulled pork burger, although it was excellent. The market was packed though - school holidays I imagine.
Then it was on to the Tower! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Other than knowing that the Crown Jewels were there I didn’t know much else about what was on display. But I was really impressed. The first thing we saw was a clever video presentation in the Bloody Tower. Then we took in the Crown Jewels, walked around the battlements and went up into the White Tower. Everything was really well done. Like Stonehenge, the Tower was busy, but still it didn’t feel uncomfortable walking around.
We finished with a walk around the moat. A great day, followed up by a beer on the way back to Covent Garden and ramen in a small restaurant near my hotel. Also very good!
Oh, and I got to try out some archery!
Wednesday Amy had planned to come down to wander around the British Museum with me. Unfortunately she wasn’t feeling too well when she woke up so I set off on my own. I had a quick breakfast there and then took a look at the Michelangelo exhibition, some early British history (neatly connecting my visit with the Stonehenge trip on Saturday), plus a visit to the members’ room (in an attempt to justify my ongoing membership), and a photo of the Rosetta Stone for Amy.
After that I did a relatively rapid walking tour of my old UCL university haunts before a late checkout and continuing my journey on to Norwich.
Not all of this relates directly to my #52in52 of course. Nor does the journey to Warwick to see Oliver graduate - although that was the main reason for my trip to the U.K.. All worth mentioning though I think. Here’s the graduate with me and Amy.
With all of this going on my habits have taken a bit of a hit. I’ve just about managed to do some piano, keep up my walking, stretching and reading. But chess study ended up being put on hold.
I did get in my French listening though.
- C'était comme un grand jeu.
It was like a big game. - Ce jour-là, pour la première fois, je me suis senti différent.
That day, for the first time, I felt different. - Il pense à l’avenir, aux conséquences.
He thinks about the future, about the consequences.
The weekend was a little quieter, which is probably just as well. I was sorting a lot of old photos, books and tech equipment at Mum and Dad's house. I was also importing a lot of old slides to Dad's computer. All of which means I now have a wealth of information for Diderot entries. Which should make up for the fact that I haven't posted anything on that site this week.
When I wasn't doing that, I was being looked after very well by my parents.
Next week may be a bit quieter.
