Arriving in London at 10 am, we began our first day trip to London with a visit to the Tower of London. Within the Tower we received a personal tour from Mr. Jeremy Ashbee, the assistant curator for the five palaces, and a leading authority on the Tower. We were allowed to leave the tourist area to stand in the area of the former moat where Mr. Ashbee has led archeological digs. We were then guided through the rest of the fortress where we visited the royal armory which includes the suit of armor of Henry VIII. We proceeded to visit the wing housing the Crown Jewels. We were fortunate to be some of the only visitors and to have the opportunity to gaze at length at this magnificent collection. The Tower of London has served different functions since it was built in its long history. It has variously acted as a prison, as an armory, as a royal palace, and as an administrative center. Mr. Ashbee described the stages of its development and showed us the historical progress of its construction. He dispelled many of the myths about the Tower which were of ten created for nineteenth century tourists—like the place of traitors’ gate, and the axe used for the execution of Anne Boleyn [she was actually executed with a sword].
After our exceptional and illuminating tour of the Tower of London, we hopped on the bus and took a two-hour bus-tour of London. We were able to see the Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, The House of Commons, West Minster Abbey, The Thames River, The Globe Theatre, Buckingham Palace—from a great distance, and the Inns of Court. Our tour guide enabled us to orientate ourselves within London.
After our bus tour had ended, we explored the ominous city for a couple of hours. We all ran around with our eyes aglow as the exquisite sights before us; we never ceased to be amazed. When our time to tour alone had ended, we met back at the bus so that we could go and watch the Royal Shakespeare Company perform The Tempest, which we had just finished reading for our Shakespeare in Performance class.