Tower of London

First stop in London: Tower of London. Pictured above is me (obviously) standing in front of the Tower of London. I love thei photograph because it looks like I was pasted in. You decide: am I making this all up or did I really go to England.










Back to the tower: William the Conquerer started work on this building-- England's first castle-- in the eleventh century.

It is still one of the residences of the queen, but it also houses an armory museum as well as a display of the heavily protected crown jewels. Both of the above were fabulous-- the former entertaining and the latter simply astounding.

But the highlight was the Yoeman's Tour. The Tower of London Yoemans are palace guards that, after meeting very difficult and strict requirments and completing extensive training, become royal bodyguards and and move into the tower grounds.