Tower of London 08/14/2023

 We had to split up today.  Linda and I went to Lloyd's Bank on Oxford Street in an attempt to recover our ATM card, and Harry and Amanda went to the Tower of London.  As it turns out we could have gone with Harry and Amanda.  We wasted over two hours traveling to Lloyds.  The bank represenative informed us the card was destroyed,and we should contact MAX and have the card cancelled.  Due to the time change, it was several hours before the banks in the US opened and when I called MAX from England, I spent over an hour on a computer waiting for a represenative to answer my call because my call was very important to MAX.  I never made personal contact with anyone.  I finally called our daughter, Courtney, and asked her to go to a MAX branch and personally close the card.  I should have done that first.

Harry and Amanda enjoyed their tour of the Tower of London and filled us in on what we missed. The Tower of London is officially "His Majesty' Royal Palace".  It came into existence in 1066 after the Norman conquest.  The Tower played a prominet role in English history.  It is a multi-purpose structure, and at various times through the years it was a treasury, an armoury, and a prison.  The 16th and 17th centuries were considered as its zenith.  There were quite a few executions held within its walls during this period of time.  You never wanted to hear the term "sent to the tower", if it was applied to you.  It would not end well. Amanda wanted everyone to know that she paid her respects to Anne Boleyn at the site where Anne was beheaded.  It was used as a prison in World War I. There were 12 people executed for the charge of espionage during this period. Nazi leader, Rudolf Hess was imprisoned here after World War II

After the tour, Linda and I met Harry and Amanda at  a local pub, "The Hung, Drawn and Quartered Pub", for lunch.  Afterwards we took the subway to our next destination, Harrod's Department store.  Harrod's has been in existence, providing high end merchandise to locals and visitors alike for over 150 years.  I asked everyone to describe Harrod's in one word:  Amanda- Overwhelming,  Linda- Crowded , Harry- Extravagant and my word was Expensive.  On our way back to Islington, we took a break at a pub I mentioned when we first started this trip,"the Bunch of Grapes".  This pub is located in the village, formerly known as Hayes, now known as greater London.

Linda and I decided to go out for dinner and chose the pub Hemmingford Arms.  The pub is located in Barnsbury, two subway stops from our apartment.  This pub was built in the 1850's, with a focus of preserving ale.  Tonight the kitchen was closed and they had no ale, but the bar was open.  We returned to Islington and had cheese and wine as our dinner meal.  In the future, I will check and make sure the kitchen is open.

Tomorrow will be spent at the British National Museum,

Tower Bridge from the Tower of London

Harry and a Beefeater

The Pub was a multi-purpose building

Harrods, a shopping mecca

Ike's London HQ's



Monument to pack animals use in war

General Eisenhower lived here

We had lunch here.

Tower of London

Linda and Amanda

Scotch Egg

The Buckingham Arms





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