We stopped at Victoria Station for a bite to eat before going to The Tower of London. The station is being refurbished so it looks very rough at the moment. It will be glorious when finished. Can't you see Harry Potter hurrying to catch his train to Hogwart's?
This is the view of The Tower of London seen when you come out of The Underground.
This is the remains of a Roman wall that can't be missed as you exit the Tower Hill Underground.
The grassy area was the moat around The Tower of London. It is more impressive than I remember it 31 years ago, but then the restaurants and ticket booths beside it were not there then. Maybe I never saw the moat from this view.
Here is the entrance to The Tower.
The White Tower is used in advertising and housed a display of armament from the time of King Henry VIII in celebration of 500 years since he ascended to the thrown. Pictures were not allowed inside, but Henry's fascination with technology was amazing. There were breechloading rifles with preloaded cartridges. These were not commonly used by the military until midway through the American Civil War, three centuries later. I was dreading this tour because it seemed long and boring during my previous visit. Museum displays have come a LONG way so this tour was far more interesting.
The Waterloo Block houses the Crown Jewels. There are fewer of them on display today, but the presentation is done much better. We had met 7 elementary education majors from Texas A & M the day before on the Tube. They were arriving for a 3 week experience in Europe. We ran into two of them during the visit to the Crown Jewels. They had discovered that they had not brought warm enough clothes. We were able to tell them where to go to find some cheap wraps.
Traitors Gate was originally where Henry VIII docked his barge. His river transport couldn't have been very wide. It was so named because "traitors" entered through this gate to be beheaded. Anne Boleyn was one.
There were less than 20 people tortured in The Tower, but this room showed three methods very graphically.
The site of the scaffolds used to behead three of Henry VIII's wives is believed to have been located here. The tag on the flowers is addressed to Anne Boleyn. This wasn't here 31 years ago.
The Tower Bridge is another icon used in British advertisement and in the opening of at least one or two James Bond films. It is beside The Tower of London.
Curators have recreated the bedroom of the king as it probably looked when The Tower of London was in use as a royal residence.
The South Wall Walk gives you a good view of the castle interior and The Thames.
I took this photo to show the present day setting for the castle. 
The City Hall of London is directly across The Thames from The Tower. Looks like an Egyptian pharaoh's crown to me.
Dyson, the vacuum cleaner people, have developed a new hand dryer that is very fast. Put hands pointing down inside and move them up and down until dry. Very efficient.
Londoners call that modern building the Gherkin, as in pickle. I think it looks like a rocket ship. It belongs to a large Swiss conglomerate. It definitely stands out against the ancient buildings of The Tower. 
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