London--The Day We Saw A Shakespeare Play

But that wasn't all we did. First we stopped at the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum). 

There is plenty too see. Here are some pictures without a lot of commentary. Mostly because I am not sure what in in the pictures.  

This is an interesting light fixture, to say the least. 

I knew my kids would be interested in these:

A knight's glove (I am sure there is a real name for it).

This is a collection of children's crossbows. Because every child should have a crossbow. 

I enjoyed exploring the V&A. I have plenty of pictures to prove it. But I don't think I have anything to prove.  

Now for a photo opportunity tip. There is a red phone booth just outside the V&A. 

 After lunch, we headed to the Tower. 

This has been around since 1066. 1066!!

Tower of London fun facts: There was a moat surrounding the tower that was full of human waste that didn't run into the Thames River as planned.  Alligators (or was it crocodiles?) also lived in the moat. 

Isn't this a cool ceiling? 

A throne:

A king (I forget which one) died here of suspicious causes. Treachery!

Tower Bridge:

This is a really big place, that even houses the Crown Jewels. No photography allowed, so I can't share the crappy pictures I would have taken. 

I am pretty sure this stylus pre-dates the Nintendo version. 

Rilie vs the knight:

Now before you get all excited, know this: this is not a Beefeater.  It is a Yeoman Warder.

A church.

Not a church

The mix of old and new is something I love about London. 

Not far from the Tower is St. Paul's Cathedral. 

We made it just in time to hear the end of a church service and to see the interior. It is huge and pretty spectacular.

This is Temple Bar-the only surviving gateway into London. I didn't remember it from before (1996) but it was returned to the city in 2004 which explains why I had no idea what it was. I was feeling a little dumb. 

And then the weather took a turn for the worse. Rain in London!? We got a little wet on our way to the Globe Theater.

Rilie and I crossing the London Millennium Footbridge. Not the best picture of us  me, but I love the clouds and St. Paul's in the background. This bridge also didn't exist when last I was there. 

The original Globe theater was built in 1599. This theater opened in 1997 (I visited it while in progress in '96) and is near where the original stood. Like its predecessor, the theater is open air so we were expecting to freeze to death. 

Fortunately, we had a little roof over our heads so we could better enjoy the Taming of the Shrew. 

'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white;

And, being a winner, God give you good night!

Now, go thy ways; thou hast tamed a curst shrew.