We had been in London for over three weeks and not made it that far east. The closest we came was St. Paul's Cathedral and that trip spurred me on to finally see this legendary place.
What could go wrong?
Packing up and heading out was pretty straightforward at this point, it just continues to be time consuming.
The plan would be to walk down toward Covent Garden, an easy 20 minute stroll which we had done a few times for the London Transportation Museum.
From there we would catch the 15 bus since it went directly by the Tower.
The mid-morning walk went quickly and easily. The day was bright and cheery and the boys and l were very excited to see the Tower. Lanna was so relaxed that she passed out.
Then we got to the bus stop. Many stops have a real time updates for the bus and when it will arrive that scrolls continuously on a readerboard The 15 bus wasn't even listed which made me concerned.
After waiting 10 minutes or so and asking one of the other bus drivers, we still had no idea if the 15 would ever arrive. We found another route that would take us close and we planned to take it.
Then the 15 came into view!
"Daddy look! LOOK! It's a Routemaster!" Joey yelled excitedly.
Joey never ceases to amaze us with what he will remember and when he remembers it. The routemaster is an old Double Decker made between 1954 and 1968, which we learned about at the Transportation Museum. I had no idea any of them were still running. Joey quickly recognized it and both he and Sammy were so ecstatic to ride a route master!
Turns out, the routemaster still runs sometimes on the 15 route:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g186338-c186641/London:United-Kingdom:Ride.The.Heritage.Routemaster.Buses.html
We flagged it down. It stopped. You can only get on the back and the attendant there looked at me with Joey and Sammy hopping up and down and Lanna sleeping in the stroller.
"Sorry, no strollers."
I asked if they would take the stroller if folded up. They would.
Then I quickly decided to take this routemaster so the boys could experience it (and because this route would take us directly to the Tower while other routes would not).
I told Joey and Sammy to get on the bus and they both clambered on board enthusiastically. I swiftly unbuckled Lanna and folded up the stroller.
But not swiftly enough. The bus started to drive away with my two distraught sons staring at me from the back!
Fortunately through my years of coaching swim team and playing team sports, I have done a considerable amount of yelling. I am quite good at it.
"YOU STOP THAT BUS RIGHT NOW." I yelled.
The bus stopped. So did many pedestrians walking around me.
Then I jumped aboard with my still sleeping daughter in one hand and the stroller in the other and lead my boys to the front of the routemaster.
Traumatic as that episode was, they quickly recovered and became mesmerized by looking out the front of the routemaster's window.
Given the thick traffic, the boys had A LOT of time to enjoy the routemaster. Part of me thought walking would have been quicker.
Eventually we did arrive to the Tower and we hopped off the bus. I took some pictures as it drove away this time with all my children at my side.
Finally we were here! After a quick walk over and getting the annual membership (I highly recommend this for anyone visiting for several weeks as you can go to the Tower, Hampton Court, Kew Palace, and Kensington Palace as many times as you want with a membership and it's highly cost effective).
Here are the kids at the entrance.
Given the stresses and delays of the day and since the boys had done so well, we went right to the cafe for a treat.
After a much needed rest at the cafe and jacked up on pink marshmallows, we stormed out to the Tower!
On the way in, we had already passed by the Medieval Palace and Bloody Gate. Along the way they had excellent statues of the animals that once lived in the tower including lions (there for over 600 years), tigers, a polar bear and an elephant.
Given the fact we were planning to come back a few times and the lateness of the day, the kids and I went for a walk on the walls to start. It was a great way to traverse the area, giving you some excellent views to the north, south, east and west.
Atop the walls before we even started the loop, there was a great view of Tower Bridge.
We continued along, learning about the guardhouses and history of each of the towers we passed through.
Joey and Sammy particularly enjoyed the guard display where you could try on their helmet.
"I liked it, but it hurt my head." Sammy reported. No surprise as it probably weighed 8-10 pounds (easily a quarter of Sammy's own weight).
We continued along with Lanna toddling since the parapets were wide and without gaps to allow a baby to fall through.
They spent a good long time in the area that used to house the Tower animal menagerie, complete with open cage that Lanna loved going in and out of.
In the past, the Tower was also the city zoo since the royal animal menagerie had an extensive and diverse collection of animals and reptiles (I found it entertaining that the snakes were often warmed on the oven to battle the chilly England winters).
Unlike the zoo, however, there really was no separation of the animals from the visitors and the display mentioned a young woman who was petting a tiger was suddenly attacked and lost her arm and, shortly afterward, her life.
Given that the only animals there today were the children running amok, everyone left there intact.
Outside the menagerie there was a beautiful view of downtown London.
When we returned to ground level, we were surprised by an inspection of the Royal Guards stationed outside the Royal Jewels.
Then they went on a patrol of the grounds. Joey accompanied them to ensure all was well. I encouraged Sammy to join him but he wasn't quite up to the required conditioning and speed of the Guards.
Once safely returned from inspection, we explored the White Tower, the centerpiece of the Tower with its stout square structure and four towers.
The boys loved the first floor, filled with knights, horses, and armor. Joey was taking pictures of nearly everything (to be featured later in another Joey photo exhibit). They feature the "Line of Kings" which has been a display idea for several centuries. But don't listen to me, here's the Historic Royal Palaces link:
http://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/visit-us/top-things-to-see-and-do/line-of-kings/visiting-line-of-kings/introduction-to-line-of-kings/
There were three floors to visit in the White Tower and we spent most of the time on the first floor. As time grew short, we went through the two other floors a little more quickly (more on them in a future post).
When we had completed the tour of the White Tower, the kids and I headed out. We had found a bus on the other side of the Thames that ended right near our apartment! Given the ride would be a long one, I wanted to get there before rush hour.
To get there, we crossed the Thames on the Tower Bridge.
That was amazing.
Standing there in the middle we looked back at the Tower of London and down the Thames.
Joey, now with a keen eye for any "fancy" car, quickly yelled out, "Old Aston Martin!" And he was right. We got a quick shot of it before it was out of sight.
The bus ride back wasn't as bad as I expected but it wasn't great. It did provide a unique view of the London Eye with Big Ben as we crossed the Waterloo Bridge.
And then Sammy rested after his long day.
We arrived just a few minutes away from the apartment and with Sammy and Lanna safely in the stroller, Joey and I walked back in the cool London night.
No comments:
Post a Comment