Greetings from London! It has been an incredible yet exhausting weekend with Bo and my parents. I love that when my parents visit London we have the opportunity to finally visit historic and cultural spots we’ve heard about so much.
I took Friday off from work so that we could enjoy the day together. Our itinerary included a relaxed morning breakfast, exploring Tower of London, cruising the Thames river, pub grub and toasting pints in a pub.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our experience at the Tower of London. Culturally and historically, it was a great starting point for our London history tour. We were blessed with phenomenal weather which meant that we spent plenty of time touring the grounds and walking the perimeter wall.
Did you know that this seal changes for each king or queen, replacing the first letter with their first initial? The R however remains the same as it stands for queen or king in Latin, which is regina for queen or rex for king.
For us, the highlights included the crown jewels, which have been stored at the Tower of London since the 14th century when Westminster Abbey was deemed unsafe. The Crown Jewels collection includes the coronation objects of the kings and queens such as crowns, robes, sceptres, and rings. 
The jewels are guarded by members of the British Army. In addition, the Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters, only qualify to serve in this role once they have honorably served in the army for 22 years! 
If you’re planning a trip to the Tower of London, we do have a few tips for you based on our experience.
1. Buy your tickets in advance to avoid the very lengthy queues.
2. Research in advance to understand whether European school children are on holiday. If they are, then make sure you arrive as early as possible.
3. Make sure to allow yourself 2-3 hours to explore the Tower of London as there are many areas to visit and being rushed just isn’t fun.
Have you been to London before? If so, what was your favorite part?
So interesting reading about you discovering London, and Geneva too. I’m British and it’s lovely to see my country on here.
Caroline if you have any suggestions I would love them!!
I went to Tower London and The Crown Jewels when I was a child and I don’t really remember it I’m sad to say. I’d love to go back now I’m older.
Tip: UK children have a week off mid Feb, two/three weeks off for Easter, a week at the end of May, Christmas, and the Summer. It works out about every six weeks :)!
It’s worth taking a Yeoman Warder tour of the tower, it takes about an hour at no additional charge. In addition to hearing a few stories of past prisoners you’ll gain access to the Chapel Royal. The crown jewels are amazing, too.
Good to know! I’ll update the post to show that 🙂
I was actually in London for the first time during a layover on my honeymoon a few weeks ago. Missed our connection thanks to the lovely weather they’d been having and got to spend an afternoon/evening in Heathrow and the airport Raddison. Not exactly the London experience one would choose, but we just considered it an extended honeymoon 😉
That’s how we ended up in Amsterdam earlier this year!
I’ve been to London many times and adore many of the usual landmarks, but the one with a special place in my heart is St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was always my favorite spot, but it became even more meaningful in 2007 when I got engaged at the top of the dome!
We have yet to visit St Paul’s cathedral! That’s so special 🙂