London - Day 2

Today could best be described as the Tower Bridge Day, although, ironically, we didn't actually go there.  

The Tower Bridge was on a short list of things planned for the day, but we ended up spending the entire day at the Tower of London, where Anna took photos of the Tower Bridge from a distance and at every possible angle.  (It seems clear that we are not going to visit all the sites we intended during this trip!)

The Tower of London with a new skyscraper "the Shard" nearing completion in the background

Inside the Tower of London

The Tower of London is actually an old village consisting of many towers, which were often used as prisons, although they weren't originally intended as such.

Anna in front of the Queen's House and the Tower Green

Also within the Tower we saw the Queen's House (meaning Anne Boleyn), shown above, a chapel that has been in continuous use for over 500 years, ramparts, old Roman foundations, a medieval palace which was the Royal Residence, the royal ravens kept by the monarchy for good luck,  the Tower Green, which was the prime execution location when that sort of thing was popular family fun, and numerous residences currently in use by various heads of State.  And of course, there are the crown jewels (no photos allowed).  Most of the photos (and this is just a tiny selection) were taken by Anna, who I think is developing a good eye for photography.  See how many images of the Tower Bridge or parts thereof you see (there are 5 below)!

On the walk home, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this beautiful espaliered magnolia tree just around the corner from our hotel.  It is incredible!

And Little Miss Anna has been very good about wrapping up her days by writing in her journal.