In Da 'Hood

I live in Richmond, which is just outside of London. By train, it takes me 30-45 minutes. Depending on how many stops and how far in to London I am going. Richmond is described at 'posh' (like the Spice Girl). We are the Beverly Hills of the area. One of the streets I walk down to get into town is always lined with BMW's, Mercedes and Audi's. The houses are worth millions and the reason I get to live here is because I live on campus. Otherwise, I could never afford this city. Saturday morning I went into town for breakfast and groceries.

MMmmm, Carmel Hot Chocolate, buttered croissant and a banana. At Starbucks if you eat inside, they serve your drink in a mug. My neck of the woods has a lot of Weeping Willows. I pass by this one into town and I love the phone booths here!

I walk through this neighborhood and I love all the homes.
This sign is hung in the reception of my bank: Is that a fat joke?

Susan "wont you be my neighbor" B.

Tower of London? More like Tower of Terror Part 2

Ann Bolin wasn't the only person to loose her head on these grounds. In fact, beheading, hangings, prisons, torture rooms all existed here. It was customary to pay your executioner before he chopped off your head. If you didn't pay him enough, it might take more than one hack to chop it off. After one is beheaded, the head is held up in air by the executioner and the crowd cheers, then they would impale the head and parade it around as warning to others to not break the law.

This Raven is one of eight.

The Ravens are one of the most famous sights at the Tower of London. Legend has it that Charles II was told that if the ravens left the Tower, the kingdom and the fortress would fall. So, he kept 6 ravens at all time. Today, they have eight just for good measure.
This is called the Garderobe. AKA: the toilet.
I thought this dragon was cool.
All the talk of killings, torture and beheading made me hungry so I ate at the Cafe.

Cupcake cheers for little Eric's birthday!

There was a section called Royal Beasts. They used to keep wild animals on the grounds like elephants, lions and monkeys.

These guys were play actors.

In the Royal Beast section, on the towers, where these scary creatures.

Boo!

Hello London!

I took this shot of the city on top of one of the towers.

Also from atop a tower.

I also learned about how they would torture prisoners. They had torture 'machines' that they used. One machine folded the body into 3 sections, essentially crushing it. The next did just the opposite. It had 3 rollers and the hands and feet where tied out to the side and then pulled until the joints would detach. Gross. I learned this in a section called Torture at the Tower.

These crazy stairs were in all the towers. Very steep, narrow and circular.

Also, I learned about a form of torture/killing that they affectionately named: hanging, disemboweling and beheading. Yup, just like it sounds. I am going to describe it now, so if you don't want to know, skip ahead.

First, they hang the person just long enough that they almost loose their life, then after they cut them down and let them come to, the cut them from belly to sternum, but not too deep, they want to keep the victim alive. Then, slowly, they behead them. Gross right?

The Tower from outside the grounds.

I also went into the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula. Some of the dead royalty are buried there.

They still have some of the original walls that were built in 1078 by William the Conqueror.

The Bloody Tower: Acquired it name in the 16th century. It was believed to be the site of the murder of the Princes in the tower. This is a good story too. Edward the IV of England had two sons, Edward the V and Richard of Shrewsbury. When Edward the IV died, the crown would go to his son Edward the V. Their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester took responsibility for the two boys. But, after arriving for Edward the V coronation, Richard declared them both illegitimate. At which point made allowed Richard to become King, making him Richard III. There are reports of the boys playing in the tower, but they both mysteriously disappeared in the summer of 1483. It is believed that they were murdered there. Remains of 2 young bodies were found 117 years later that are believed to be that of the Princes. Those two bodies were removed from the grounds and buried properly at Westminster Abbey.

Susan "quoth the Raven 'Nevermore!'"B.

Tower of London? More like Tower of Terror Part 1

Guess who turned 7 today? This big kid! My handsome nephew, Eric. I did my own celebrating in his honor.The Birthday Boy!Ok, I went into central London all by myself! Yeah me! All my friends have classes on Friday and I do not. So, Tower of London was where I headed. I tried to get a picture of the tower from the street and a nice woman that was walking by offered to take a picture of me. That's part of the Tower behind me.
I took over 50 pictures, so this is going to be a two part post and you only get to see the highlights.
First, I love cobblestone streets.
I always start all of my outings by going to the bathroom. Festive, isn't it?

Just outside the restroom was this cute phone booth.
This is the White Tower.
There are 3 levels and it has replicas of armor, horses, weapons etc. inside.

This is the tower where the Crown Jewels are kept. You cannot take pictures inside, but let me say this, there was more bling in there than Kanye West, Jay-Z or Snoop could shake a gold ringed finger at.

This is part of the tower that protects the mote. See the replica of the protecter on the left?

I went on a Yeoman Warder (also known at "beefeaters") guided tour. This chick was my beefeater. Fun fact: if you marry a beefeater, you can get married at The Tower of London. Also, she, amongst others, live at the Tower of London.

This guy was standing outside the Crown Jewel Tower. At first, I wasn't sure if he was real. He stood so still.

Another side of the White Tower.

This is the Queen's House.

This guy was marching back and forth in front of the Queen's House. This is where the Queens used to live.

My favorite story was of Ann Bolin. She was beheaded here. Some of the charges against here included adultry, witch craft and laughing at the King's clothes. Just before the executioner beheaded Ann, she knelt in prayer. Legend says that at the point, the executioner was so quick and swift with his double edge sword, that when he held her head up, her lips were still moving in prayer.

Is There An Eastminster Abbey?

To answer my own question, no. There is no Eastminster Abbey. This post might be slightly morbid, but I find it fascinating. Alice and I went for a walk (we do that a lot). We went through a cemetery in Richmond. I think cemeteries are so cool. I think about how each grave is someones story. It makes me happy when I see flowers that are left. I love looking at the dates on the headstones and seeing how old they are. Here, have a look:

This is a chapel in the middle of the cemetery.
This monument are for the children that are buried on either side of it. It made me sick to my stomach to see so many small graves.

Speaking of dead people, I went into London to see Westminster Abbey. I knew there were seventeen monarchs buried there, but I didn't realize that Westminster Abbey is a dead man's party. All my pictures are outside of Abbey. There is no photography inside. Above, I am posed with on of the other girls that went on the trip with me and Big Ben.

Long may she wave.

My favorite part of Abbey, Poet's corner. There is a monument for William Shakespeare and others like, Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte, Elizabeth Browning, Edward Lear and so many others.

I also saw the tomb of Queen Elizabeth I and her family members and her life long rival, Queen Mary, might have been her name. When I go to a a cemetery, I don't like walking on graves. In Westminster Abbey, I would have had to scale the walls to get around.

I saw where William and Kate got hitched. I exited the door that Kate entered. Fun fact: That door is only for royalty to enter into, everyone else can exit it or enter from the other side.

I also walked through a museum. It had artifacts that dated back further than the 14oo's. Queen Elizabeth's corset was on display next to her dress and other clothes. YIKES! I imagine she had to break ribs to get that corset on.

This is just outside the Abbey. That is another girl from the trip.

The stained glass windows and textile and architecture through out the Abbey, some have been there since 1066, UH-mazing. That is the only way to describe it.

These kids where walking outside the Abbey. Ah, young English school boys in uniform. Eew, that made me sound like a pedophile. These boys represent what I imagined most English kids to look like.

I also saw the coronation chair. I gotta say, it's looking a little worn. As it should, it's been there a while as well. In fact, they have been using the same chair since 1066. True story.

Also, I saw where Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin are buried.

Just before you leave the Abbey, you can learn about the tomb of the unknown Warrior/Soldier. It is surrounded by Poppy flowers and is really pretty.

I saw so much more than what I have told you, but you are just going to have to come for a visit to learn the rest.

Seriously, it's an amazing church. The layout is in the shape of a cross, to represent the cross of Christ.

This is what outside trash cans look like here in England. Know why? Because people had been putting bombs in the traditional trash bins. Having these out is a precaution for bombings.

Susan "glad to walking amongst the living" B.