Off With Her Head!

Today I got up early for our tour of the Tower Of London. It's the infamous sight where Anne Boelyn, another of Henry VIII's six wives, and many other people were beheaded. It was also where many people of high stature were imprisoned, and where many people were tortured. Today it is a historical sight, and it is where the Crowned Jewels are on display. We got there before the place opened so that we could see the Ceremony of The Keys, where the guards who live there do a ceremonial march to and from the doors to unlock them. It was pretty interesting to see them do it. The place was really cool--I saw Traitor's Gate where people accused of treason and other awful things were brought in for their punishments. I also stood where Anne Boelyn was beheaded, and saw where she was buried in the chapel. Apparently she was buried all squished into this little box, with her head at her waist, underneath her arm. That's why when people have reported seeing her ghost she's always carrying her head. The Crowned Jewels were pretty cool--soooo sparkley! We watched a short film with the highlights of the Queen's coronation and the items used before we actually saw them. It gave me goosebumps for some reason! The peices were behind a huge vault and the doors weigh over 200kg each! They didn't even want people lingering to look at them too long, so there was a conveightor belt that you had to stand on ride through the room. Pretty neat stuff! The crowned Jewels have the largest and 2nd largest diamonds in the world in them. There was also a small exhibition about torture at the Tower--they tried to make it seem like torture was rarely used, but I highly doubt it was a sparse a tool as they made it out to be. Henry VIII beheaded his own wives...what does that say about his treatment of perfect strangers?! There was also an exhibition called Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill, and it was all about the armour that he wore and had a lot of it on display. I took a couple of pictures even though I wasn't really supposed to. Oops!

After the Tower I headed back to Ability just to hang out and relax before we saw As You Like It at the Globe later. I just rested and then went earlier to Waterstone's--a six story bookstore in Piccadilly. I loved it! SIX floors! I bought a book as a gift and then one for myself after I wandered around the place for a while.

Afterwards I headed toward the Tate Modern, a modern art museum where we planned to meet for tea before the play. Unfortunately we forgot to check the hours and it was closed, but fortunately enough the Tate Modern is right near the Globe so we didn't really waste too much time. I bought a couple of things at the gift shop and then it started pouring. If you didn't know--the Globe doesn't have a roof. I got in line with the other groundling ticket holders, bought a poncho because I was smart and forgot my rain coat, and got ready for the show. Groundling ticket holders stand the entire time in front of the stage--they're the cheapest, and arguably the best seats in the house. Even though it was raining--the show was AMAZING!! The entire cast was just awesome, the guy who played Orlando was adorable, and I found myself laughing so much that my side hurt when I left. We had such a great time that we were all wondering how we could get jobs there! I love the Globe--gonna miss it.

That's all for today
Whitney