I Spy with my London Eye

Our first destination today was the Tower of London. Despite the name, it is a collection of a lot of towers and buildings as a fortress around the central tower. It ticked all the "Castle" boxes for us, with a moat (dry now), portcullis to get in and arrow slits in the walls instead of windows. The crown jewells are housed here but after waiting in an endless line with an annoying loud French guy behind us, we were not ready to be impressed. I did like Queen Victoria's tiny diamond crown though. We wandered through the white tower, which had a comprehensive display of armour and weaponry. The highlight was probably the two versions of armour for Henry VIII, clearly showing the huge weight gain in the interim. We chatted with a Beefeater - the uniform is so costume-like it was difficult to remember he was a real soldier rather than a dressed up theme park helper. The sense of history made this a fascinating visit. We then took a jet boat ride on the Thames, fast terrifying and cold for me, just cold for the boys. The accompanying music (a mix of James Bond tunes and songs that fit the theme such a "Rocketman") made me giggle, but mostly I just hung on to the rail for grippy death, closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. The torture ended at the London eye where we had a private capsule and skipped the line for our half Hour ride in the pod. We walked back to the hotel and the boys prepared to venture out to the Crystal Palace v Arsenal game. I will leave that story for a guest blogger. Attached are a few photos - our hotel seen from the London Eye, the Jetboat and Team Starrett at the tower.