London- Day 3

Today we celebrated Thomas’ 32nd birthday! We walked about 10 miles and climbed roughly 60 flights of stairs.

Along our journey today we saw:

1. St Paul’s Cathedral- truly breathtaking. No photography is allowed inside but photos from the outside balcony gave a beautiful view of the city. 528 of our steps came from the journey to the top.

2. The Tower of London- Did you know it was once a zoo? We also saw the Crown Jewels- including a diamond over 500 carats! Again no pictures were allowed of the Crown Jewels.

Thomas and I couldn't believe people actually lived in the Tower of London. As we walked around we could see what appeared to be apartments and private residences. We learned later on a bus tour that most of the guards and Yeoman Warders families live in the Tower. 

Because the Tower of London was added to over the years, there are many different styles of buildings. It was quite amazing to see how styles changes over the years. 

3. The Tower Bridge- We stood on the glass floor 140 feet above the Thames River.

4. The Globe Theatre- Built in 1997, The Globe Theatre is a replica that stands near Shakespeare’s original theatre. Due to it being winter season, they are not performing plays in the outdoor theatre but Thomas and I both have it on our list to return in summer sometime and watch a performance from the yard (standing room only on the floor in front of the stage) for just £5.

5. The National Gallery- We saw the works of Leonardo DaVinci, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau, Joseph Mallord William Turner (who’s work I loved!), and many others!

Today we also rode on an open top bus and saw a vintage double decker red bus!