Don't be naughty else I'll put you in the Tower....

Last stop on our whirlwind London tour was The Tower of London... Its is THE MUST SEE in London for me.. not only for the Crown Jewels, but the Beefeaters and the architecture... you can almost imagine yourself as a princess there, please visit if you get the chance... (although $30 for 1hr (all we had left of the day!!) is a bit steep!)

We sprinted in.. not a pretty sight ( two black eyes for me later) desperate to make the Crown Jewels which close an half hour earlier to make sure everyone in the queue gets in...and there was a queue of approximately 200 people... arrrggghh would we make it? And what were they all queuing for anyway, its just a bit of jewellery right?

Well not really...they are priceless symbols of the British monarchy found under under armed guard in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. You should see them because they are the greatest working collection of Crown Jewels in the world and priceless symbols of British monarchy They include the world’s most famous diamonds, the enormous Cullinan I (the biggest diamond ever found)  and the notorious Koh-i-Noor
23,578 gems that make up the Crown Jewels, including the glistening Imperial State Crown, which alone has 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds and 5 rubies.

And you men wonder why diamonds are a girls best friend!?

Any the Tower isn't all about the diamonds...Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England.  It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison since at least 1100, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. The Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower".


Anyway enough of the history lesson...here's the pictures... and tomorrow on to the frozen wastelands of North Devon with the family and dogs!

These are where the jewels are!

Armed guards!

Bye bye London it was fun, rushed but fun!!!


Find Pet Friendly Vacation Rental Homes for your next vacation

Skateboard graveyards and Buckingham Palace...!

Bet you've never seen a blog title like that!!!!

The skateboard 'graveyard' was a little weird really but probably cool in skateboarding circles.. although I'm hardly qualified to discuss whats cool (rapidly reaching 40, non-hoody wearing, law abiding citizen!)

Over the bridge on the way to the London Eye we saw this...

 On closer inspection its was this... a place for skateboards to die

Do you think they go to a 'Skateboard Heaven' or end up in hell somewhere for littering?

Anyway I wasn't going to spend too much time thinking about it we had to get back on the bus to get to Buck House...

One last glamour shot..

Windswept & cold... good look!

And we were back freezing out bits off on the top deck of the bus... the ONLY good thing about that is you manage to get some good pics as you travel...

County Hall

Cool pub... wish I'd been in it rather than taking pics of it!

Anyway finally we arrived at Buckingham Palace...

Its been likened to a "Stalinist slab of monochrome with all the warmth of a cell-block". Hmmmmm not what we think of as a Palace... but it's still one of the Queens houses..!!

I loved this snippet from The Evening Standard in 2007....

'The truth is that Her Majesty's London residence is a monstrous carbuncle - though anyone who points this out can expect to be vilified by witless traditionalists, who claim the palace is "inseparable from our history, our nationhood and, most importantly, our constitution".
What nonsense. Like so many allegedly timeless and quintessentially British institutions, it's quite a recent creation. Queen Victoria was the first monarch to live there, and she moved out again after the death of Prince Albert in 1861, leaving it vacant until her death 40 years later. (In 1864, a notice was pinned to the railings: "These commanding premises to be let or sold, in consequence of the late inhabitant's declining business.") Alterations and additions since then have made it even uglier, notably the Portland stone facade which replaced Nash's original frontage in 1913, and the new Queen's Gallery, which was described last year by our infallible architecture correspondent Rowan Moore as "pretentious and twee".
Like some of the occupants down the years, the palace is an undignified embarrassment.
True, tourists feel obliged to photograph themselves outside it. But don't Londoners' opinions count for anything? In 2005, readers of Time Out voted Buckingham Palace into the top four London eyesores along with the Elephant and Castle, Centre Point and the Tower Thistle Hotel. Four years earlier it was named "one of Britain's most hated buildings" by thousands of listeners to the BBC's Today programme. Buckingham Palace is a spirit sapping monolith which wrecks what would otherwise be one of Europe's great boulevards'



Anyway..I'll let you make your own mind up

Enjoy!

Lonely

Still cold!

He's cold too!

  

OMG they're here...

So I know I'm supposed to be telling you about the skateboard graveyard and Buckingham Palace..but yesterday, in Walmart of all places, I had an epiphany ..

Lets wind back to Christmas and picture the scene.. 6 people sat round the breakfast table munching on thick buttered toast and homemade jam when Mother brings out a box of these... to me its like the equivalent of Angels descending...I am addicted to Crunchy Nut.

 Grabbing the box from her hands I ripped it open, poured myself a huge bowl with lashings of cold milk and dug in... In the meantime my husbands niece was watching in amazement..

'Are they good?'

I nodded vigorously, unable to open my mouth long enough to talk without more cornflakes being stuffed inside..

'Oh, I'll try some then'

Well... I saw the same look on her face as I get on mine.. pure joy.. and she gobbled the lot in about 5 seconds flat!

Suffice to say we paid for extra luggage so we could get her a huge box home (and presents, else they would have been the most expensive cornflakes ever)

Anyway back to yesterday. I was meandering through Walmart getting all the non-food items for the month (so much cheaper than Publix on trash bags etc) when I spied an end-cap with what looked like the same gold colouring of Crunchy Nut... I picked up pace, knocking an old woman into some dish soap and running over a small, unkempt child.. and there they where... all stacked nice a neat..needing someone to boldly make the 1st move to buy some....

I bought 5 boxes... I mean what if they don't catch on? it's a security move.!

On further investigation when I got home (and after devouring a bowl for lunch) I found this article... apparently Kellogg's launched them over here January this year.. WHOOP WHOOP

They say... "Crunchy Nut's unique honey and nut flavor has made it one of the top cereal brands in the United Kingdom since its debut in 1980," Mike Morrissey, Kellogg's manager of brand PR, said in a statement. "We are confident that Crunchy Nut cereal's international popularity will continue in the U.S."


I used to be able to buy from the British Supermarket online... but its nearly $7 for a big box plus shipping.. and I can't bring myself to do it... so I'm super stoked they've arrived!

I spoke to my friend Anne after getting my fix, telling her how happy I was ..she said I was sad....

All my American readers... go buy some quick.. I need them to become a regular fixture .. PLEASE

Right I'm off for a bowl of Crunchy Nut!.. well it is 10.30am

London Eye Baby!

Let me tell you a story....

When I met my husband for first time (you can read about it here) we were supposed to go on the London Eye.. tickets had been purchased... sun was shining.. and we never made it.. in fact he didn't see any London sights the 1st weekend he came to England.. I'll leave the rest to your imagination....

Anyway, this trip to London I was determined we would remedy that and I purchased 3 tickets online for a 'flight' at 10.30am...it was a little stocking filler for my hubby and his niece..For the uninitiated ...

The London Eye is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually. When erected in 1999, it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, until surpassed first by the 160 m (520 ft) Star of Nanchang in 2006, and then the 165 m (541 ft) Singapore Flyer in 2008. It is still described by its operators as "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel"

When you get to the Eye you take your pre-printed Internet 'ticket' and then you have to wait in a line in the ticket office to collect your 'tickets'.. hello I'm confused... well really its a con to make you watch their 4d film experience.. which is fine when the Eye is relatively busy, but today there was us and a scabby dog waiting to get on!

Errr. nice glasses guys!


Anyway, 4d film suffered through..(4d means they throw confetti at you and spray you with stale water)...time to board our flight...

 Let me just say this is the best money you will spend in London on a sunny / clear day... don't go up in the fog or pouring rain as you wont see anything!..I thought it was amazing and we got some ace pictures...

Enjoy!!

Oooooh we're going on that!

First good view as we rotated

A pod!



Hubby like this gift!



Brittany really liked this gift!

The only snow left in London.. I zoomed in with my Dad's ace camera!



Britt looking far too photogenic.. blahhhh



Houses of Parliament and Big Ben



When the bells sound it will be 11 o'clock!



I will just to be fair let you know this information from the London Eye website... apparently you don't have to watch the 4D film... now they tell me... D'oh!

All standard ticket guests wishing to see the new 4D Experience would need to join the 4D entrance queue with their tickets 45 minutes prior to their booked time slot. If you do not wish to see the 4D Experience before your experience, please proceed to the boarding platform with your tickets 30 minutes before your experience. You may also visit the 4D Experience after your experience if you choose not to do this before.

Tomorrow... a skateboard graveyard and Buckingham Palace... bet you've never seen those two in a blog before!