Patrick wanted to make sure you were all aware of the effects of Guinness beer:
after one
after two
after three
Tag Archives: Guinness
Amber’s Birthday!
Fifty pence to pee!
Once again it was down into the tube station and off to the heart of London. Since it was Amber’s 28th birthday we decided to take her to jail – the Tower of London that is. We did manage to find a public bathroom that charged 50 pence each (that’s about $.75). I was surprised – but I have to admit, there was hot water, soap and towels! There was a Starbucks after that – where we found free bathrooms! Oh well.
The Tower of London is an 18-acre site that’s been a castle, king’s residence and prison/execution site. I wasn’t too interested in the areas like the torture room, but the Tower is also known as a fortress/stronghold, and it’s there that the crown jewels are stored and on view for the public. Ohhhh – diamonds, pearls, sapphires and rubies. I loved all the glitter. They had things displayed like they do in jewelry stores – all sparkly.
We wandered around the Tower for quite a while and found a nice exhibition about armor – it was fascinating to see what the men and horses wore. I have no idea how either of them could have moved while wearing all that metal. One particularly large suit of armor for a tall man was 130 pounds.
And just for fun, I counted the steps up and down while at the Tower. This does not include walking up/down for the tube, or steps forward/backward – just real steps going up and down. For the Tower: 499 steps.
Outside the Tower of London, Tower Bridge Behind
Next we walked to the nearby Tower Bridge. This is the bridge that opens and closes for large boats that go up and down the Thames. The engines inside have been replaced by electrical ones but you can still see the mechanics of the old steam engines. By this time of the day the sky was turning a beautiful blue and I took far too many pictures of the Tower Bridge.
Following this Amber and I were tired of walking, but Patrick persevered and went onboard the HMS Belfast – the last big-gun armored warship of World War II. While he was touring the ship, Amber and I really did keep walking further along the Thames – hoping to get a glimpse of the replica of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hinde. We walked for 30 minutes and didn’t even come close… so after we set foot on the famous London Bridge we reversed and headed back and waited for Patrick.
Lastly, back on the tube system and a return to our apartment. Patrick is off working on his Guinness count and Amber is planning tomorrow’s ventures.
