Pod on London Eye
7/20/09
We got up early today and booked it to get tickets to the London Eye and the London Dungeons. We arrived at the Eye at approximately 1000 and had absolutely no wait! We hopped right on. The revolution around (the ride) is about 30 minutes long and you get to see spectacular views of the city. The pods are roomy and they don’t overcrowd them so everyone can see the views. If you didn’t know what the London Eye is, it is a giant ferris wheel of sorts with pods instead of seats to ride in. The pods can accomodate more bodies than a regular ferris wheel. This one is also much larger in size!! I believe is was built for the millenium celebration-but don’t quote me on that.
Roger on the Eye
After disembarking from the London Eye, we walked across the Hungerford Bridge. It looks alot like the bridge the Deatheaters blow apart in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Next, we popped over to the London Dungeons. We had to stand in line for about 45 minutes before getting in, but it wasn’t too bad. I don’t know what most people expect of the Dungeons, but I was expecting more of a historical account
Jessie from the Eye
of torture/surgery /imprisonment of London in earlier times. I actually saw an ad regarding surgery in the 1700′s and thought I might catch a glimpse of John Hunter’s surgical and anatomy experiments and models–but it is actually a amusement type of attraction. Even though is wasn’t what I expected, it was fun. It has some historical facts about some strange murderers from London’s past and includes 2 amusement rides. The best one was the free fall drop simulating a ‘hanging’ at the end of the tour. What fun! As with all good amusement rides, they snap an awful picture of you right at the scariest moment, and ours was a winner, so we had to buy it. Helpful tip: we purchased the London Eye and Dungeon ticket together and got a discount on the price £33 each for adults. I wouldn’t bring small children to the Dungeons–too scary for them, but over 10 is probably okay. Also, keep in mind that the two are in totally different locations, so you will have to figure out how to get from one to the other.
London Dungeons
View from London Eye
Next we walked over Tower Bridge and went to the Tower of London. I have always thought this was just a tower, but in fact, it is a medieval castle built in 1200ish (if I am remembering correctly) by William the Conquerer. There are several tower(s) in the Tower of London. We walked through all that we were allowed to. It is quite a tour with many spiral stairs involved, some probably left over from the medieval period. Hold on tight to the rail, because you wouldn’t want to trip and fall. The White Tower housed a fascinating exhibit of the armories of Henry the VIII, called ‘Dressed to Kill’. There is a lot to see in this exhibit. We were unable to see the crown jewels because the line was too long and we didn’t have enough time. We did, however, climb through the Bloody Tower, where several famous English residents were imprisoned and killed, most famously during Henry VIII’s reign. Funny how they didn’t mention that at all in the tour. Both Ann Bolelyn and Catherine Howard were beheaded there! The tour quoted the Tower’s most famous prisoners were the young princes, sons of Edward IV, Edward V and Richard. Supposedly their Uncle Richard had them imprisoned at 13 and 10 years old because Edward was next in line to the throne. Guess what?? They disappeared shortly after their sweet Uncle had them declared illigitimate– and he just so happened to become the next King. Funny how that all works. Later, when demolishing and rebuilding, the skeletons of two children were found under the building and were believed to be the princes. They have been reburied at Westminster Abbey. All this is very interesting, but I still found it funny there was no mention of the Wives and what happened to them. Oh I forgot to mention that Henry VIII was supposedly a ‘dutiful’ husband. HA!!! He married multiple times to meet his needs, philandered when he wanted (as I’m pretty sure most Kings did) and disposed of wives at will! In any case, all were very informative and incredible to see.
Hungerford Bridge
Tower Bridge
After the Tower of London we got the Tube back to our hotel and picked up some snacks at the Waitrose, a grocery/take away store accross from the hotel. I highly recommend the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate bar. It was fabulous! Later we went to dinner at an Indian Dehli Brassiere restaurant. It was tasty and they gave us a 20% off card for our next visit. Way Cool!
Tower of London
View of the White Tower
