I WISH I WAS A YEOMAN WARDER!

So on September 20 our group went to the Tower of London. Like always Jenny and I ended up wandering around the Tower alone just taking our time through everything. We arrived at 9:00 to see the guards opening up the gates- it was so neat to see them come down and open it up for everyone to come in. Jenny and I enjoyed the Tower so much we did not leave till 4:00! There was so much to do and even with us staying all day we still want to go back!Notice the crown on the weather vain: this shows that it is still a place of the monarchy

There are 20 towers in the Tower of London and today we can still go through most of those. In some of the towers like the Salt Tower you can see engravings where prisoners wrote while they were staying there. The Tower of London is where Anne Boleyn stayed when she was being put on trial. One thing that was neat that was not there the last time I was there were the reenactments that were taking place!

Traitors Gate: Anne Boleyn and Cromwell were brought through this

While we were there we took place in the trial of Anne and Lord Cromwell was there! It was so fun because they took us through what happened and it seems to me they forced the jury to make the decision to kill her.Where Anne was executed!

In the White Tower they had a special exhibit that showed the war and sportswear that King Henry VIII wore. It also showed how much he loved playing sports and how good he was at them. I learned that King Henry VIII was playing tennis at North Hampton when he was told Anne Boleyn was executed. Ten days later he was remarried. I love going to the Tower because I learned so much about the Tudor period- and of course this is my favorite period!

Of course, we also saw the crown jewels! It was so interesting to see all the jewels used in the coronation. Everything is so symbolic and has been in practice for so long. The amulet that is used to give the holy oil dates back to the 1200s and has been used since the 1600s!

I must say that now that I am older I appreciated this so much more than when I came here in the 8th grade!

This is not a Yeoman Warder- but a guard in front of the crown jewels

We also took a tour with a Yeoman Warder! Our tour guide was named Bill and he was so cool! He taught us so much about the tower. To be a Yeoman Warder you have to have been in the military service for 22 years and be a distinguished officer. Yeoman Warders are between the ages of 40-65. It is now my goal to be a Yeoman Warder (as of right now there is 1 woman) even though I am American! Yeoman Warders are the Queen's bodyguards and there are only 35 of them!

There are also a lot of ravens around because Charles II said that if the ravens flew away the White Tower would fall down and the monarchy would fall-so there should always be 6 on the grounds but they keep it safe and have 9!

This was an poll they were taking- of course I said NO!!!

We also saw where and how they tortured their prisoners! I don't think I could ever live on the rack! Although I think the savengers daughter since I like to be curled up!

It was so much fun to go through the Tower and I can't wait to go back! It was such an educational experience and I think that if you ever go to London this should be in the top ten!
I was trying to be him- but it looks like I am about to attack him!