- Considering the fact that the tour we took was by bus rather than on foot, I would have expected more time at each location. Timing was apparently against us, however... whoever set it up is worse at scheduling things than I am. We started at Westminster Abbey, and had a great guide there. He was a retired stage actor with a pretty good grasp of history, which made him both informational & entertaining. Unfortunately we had to leave there much sooner than I would have liked, so that we could get to Buckingham in time for the changing of the guard. We were able to see all of that, but then had to hurry to catch the boat that took us along the Thames to the Tower of London. We didn't get nearly as much time as I would have liked there either, though I don't remember why.
- Damn you Cromwell! The Coronation Chair at Westminster had all sorts of stuff carved into it by his soldiers after Charles I was beheaded.
- On a semi-related note, the Coronation Chair was also missing the (I think) Coronation Stone [ed: aka The Stone of Scone, aka The Stone of Destiny], which fit into the chair just below the seat. It had been returned to Scotland at some point in the past, and only comes back for actual coronations.
(27 March 2008)
- Damn you again Cromwell! All of the original crown jewels were melted down when he took power, so none of them now are any older than Charles II. Apparently that whole "Lord Protector" thing didn't involve protecting pieces of history. About the only thing he was good for was a quote I really like: "Trust in God, but keep your powder dry."
- Also at the gift shop, I purchased a Tower of London shot glass. It wasn't used for the mead, though. In fact, it's only been used twice that I remember. It's Burns Crystal, so I save it for special occasions [ed: ditto for the Westminster Abbey shot glass].
21 May 2004 (28 March 2008)
- I actually still have a scar on my finger from when I cut myself opening Alyssa's Smirnoff. I kept it wrapped in a Kleenex until the bleeding stopped. That night I found out that I actually had some band-aids with me... I had just looked in the wrong pocket of my backpack.
- Still not a fan of Jack Daniel's, but I'll drink it if someone else is paying [ed: but not unless it's mixed with something that makes it taste completely unlike Jack Daniels, and/or if I really need to get drunk].
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