Pink Julep Visits: The Tower of London

While my mother-in-law was in town we decided to treat her to a day at The Tower of London. She and my husband had never been there and I hadn't been since 2003 so it was a great option. It was a really fun day except that it was cold and rainy all day, but we made the most of it and had a great time!

This was our Yeoman Warder tour guide. Yeoman Warders are also known as "Beefeaters." I always thought that these guys were just costumed tour guides, but boy was I wrong. They are still guards in the Queen's service and they live at the Tower of London! The requirement is 22 years of military service and then lots of tests, etc. before they become Beefeaters. I forgot the rest of what he said, but it's pretty intense.

They had an apartment set up the way it would've looked when the King lived there with costumed performers that did interactive things like putting chainmail and helmets on people and playing games of the day with children. You can tell that my husband and I were like drowned rats from the rain.

This suit of armor is funny for obvious reasons! bahaha

A view of Tower Bridge from the walls of the Tower of London.

I photographed this for posterity. Some day, Elizabeth will no longer be the queen and all these badges will be changed for Charles or William's reign.

We didn't watch the changing of the guards because of the rain, but I did catch these guys marching.

And this guard as well. It was either a very pretty boy or a girl! I don't know if females are allowed to hold these posts?

Check out this guard! She lost her hat! I snapped this in an abandoned booth... not sure if I was supposed to or not. There was no one there and it seemed that it might be there for photo ops so I jumped in!

The Tower of London is one of the oldest and most popular tourist attractions in London. I recommend it on your own, in a group or for the family. The Crowned Jewels are housed there, though no photos were allowed in the hall where they're kept. There's plenty to see and you could easily spend an entire day at the Tower. Also, it's very close to Tower Bridge, another must-see attraction in London.