Happy Birthday Andrea! It was Jan 11 and our dear professor's birthday! And what better place to celebrate her birthday than one of the most notorious prisons in history! Yup, it was that time in our trip, time to visit the Tower of London! DUN dun dunnnn.....
No really, it wasn't that scary, despite a couple gnarly looking torture devices that had me cringing just looking at the diagrams, it was really quite a delightful place, surprisingly beautiful. One of the first exhibitions we visited was the Line of Kings which had royal armor and armory on display. Man, the armor was BEAUTIFUL! Each suit of armor was just so individualized despite obviously describing each ruler's size and shape, it was such a indicator of their personality. Different designs, patterns, and materials. Some seemed so practical while others were over the top and ostentatious and completely dysfunctional as true armor. The swords and weapons were the same way. Each sword was a piece of art not to mention a extension of the man who wielded it. There were even highly decorated guns, en crested with jewels or highly decorated. They were beautiful in such a dark way. Here are some of the pictures of armor and weapons that amazed me.
I especially feel in love with the little guy above. The entire suit was maybe 4' tops, and especially enjoyed the little metal lizard perched on his head. He stood comically enough next to a GIANT suit of armor. It was apparently the armor of the midget and the Giant, and they were probably my favorite suits in the collection. A short second was the suit of armor shown above, it was etched with this beautiful gold pattern. It was beautifully and intricately done. After admiring the nice armor it was time to play. In the same exhibition there were all these games and trivia machines testing our knowledge on medieval weapons. Of course we had to try out quite a few.
After a quick walk around the outer wall, playing watch and spying on the loose Ravens hopping about the place, our time at the Tower of London was drawing to an end.
After leaving the Tower of London and having the best hot chocolate of my LIFE at Paul's, we weren't quite done with towers yet, it was time for a quick trip to the Tower Bridge right next door. Here were are standing on the bridge in the freezing wind.
Today was to be a busy day we had quite a few more stops before the day was over. The next one was King's Cross Station to take pictures with the famous platform 9 and 3/4. We had to search long and far to find it. Though we did enjoy exploring the station, it was beautiful. When we finally found it, it was quite the disappoint. Due to construction in the station it had been moved, and instead of the brickway, it was a large photo of bricks. Majorly lame, but we took our tourist photos nevertheless.
Next stop, the British Library right next door. I was expecting just a large elaborate library. What I found there was much, much better. It was half library half museum and all free! The first exhibition we went to in the library was based on the evolution of the English language. In addition to the famous books on display there were also interactive stations and listening stations with different topics such as dialects and slang. I thought that exhibition was pretty good, but the next room had a true treasure for me.
There was right in front of me was the first edition of Alice in Wonderland with the original illustrations by John Tenniel. Illustrations that I had loved since I was child. NOT only was the book there but I got to see the original woodblocks used to print them. They were so small and intricate and my printmaker senses were tingling! It was so amazing. There were some other amazing books but that was by far my favorite. Alice in Wonderland, has been and still is my favorite story. The British Library was another place I can't wait to go back to.
After the Library it was time for our last stop. Matthew Bourne's Cinderella. A more modern twist on a classic fairytale. This version was set during the London Blitz. It was an interesting idea, but I wasn't entirely convinced. Most of the time I had a hard time concentrating because the seats were so small and uncomfortable and my legs were in pain the entire performance. I think it made me more critical because my pain was putting me in a bad mood. I felt like lost of the dances were repetitive and while it was a great spectacle, it was not my favorite performance. After a long and VERY busy day, it was time to go to bed until DAY 10.
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