Tower of London & London Bridge

Since I only had morning interviews on Thursday and Friday, we had the chance to get out and be tourists for the afternoon…

Sarah at the base of Tower Bridge

Thursday we went up the Tower Bridge which is, I guess, their equivalent to the Harbour Bridge climb – there were great views across London and back across to our next day’s destination, the Tower of London. The bridge itself is a very impressive work of engineering, but Sarah wouldn’t let me take photos with the machinery that lifts 1200 tonnes of metal up and down a few times a day :( That said, they wouldn’t be nearly as interesting as the photos of the bridge itself :)

The Tower of London with the Gherkin (aka the Swiss Re building) in the background

Friday we went to the Tower of London, which is fantastic, as if someone had transplanted a medieval castle to the middle of the CBD (or, I guess, built a CBD around a medieval castle). Inside, the volume of historical artefacts was almost overwhelming, and our Yeoman Warder guide provided a very entertaining (although at times gruesome) account of the history of the tower and its inhabitants (and mentioned the cricket result). The craftsmanship and sheer opulence of the royal’s belongings, an in-depth exhibition on the gunpowder plot, and the chance to wander through a 900 year-old castle (built at the time of William the Conqueror) were major highlights.