Tower Bridge and the Roman Wall - June 24, 2010

I can't believe we actually did as much as we did. All Hallows by the Tower. The Tower of London. Climbing to the top of Tower Bridge. And the Roman Wall.

We did have afternoon tea at the Tower Vault for a pick-me-up before heading over to the Tower Bridge.

Built in 1892, Tower Bridge makes quite a backdrop to the Tower of London and all the other riverside settings in London.

Still red faced from our day on the boat to Hampton Court Palace.

On the bridge heading to the North Tower of the bridge (the tower in the background isn't the main tower).

The cane is mainly a prop to receive priority seating on public transit. It also came in handy at the Globe Theatre where we were in a standing section (great viewing!) for a 3 1/2 hour performance of Henry VIII.

We reached the top! 

Here you can see the Flag of the City of London (left) and the Union Flag (right). 

You can tell the flag on the left is the Flag of the City of London by the sword in the upper left quadrant. That sword symbolizes the sword used to behead St. Paul, and St. Paul is the patron saint of the City of London (the 1 square mile of central London, not the entire city).

This is a view from the top of the tower looking out over the Tower of London. By the end of the day we had done 2 loops of walking around the Tower of London.

Center left is the HMS Belfast. Center background is the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral.

The river is always very busy with boat traffic!

Mom in front of Tower Bridge after having reached the top of both North and South Towers, and walking across both the West and East Walkways connecting the tops of the towers.

It wasn't very far to the Tower Hill Tube Station from Tower Bridge. What's amazing about that Tube Station is that it preserves a remnant of the original Roman Wall that surrounded London. This section of the wall was built around 200AD.

Statue of a prominent Roman administrator from the time when the wall was built, with the Roman Wall in the background.

You can make out segments of red tiles in the lower half of the wall. That's the original Roman section. During medieval times the wall was heightened.

Amazing to see this 2,000 year old structure still standing pretty much intact in a vibrant modern city.