Today Kyrie, Emma, and I all went to the Tower of London at the bright and early time of 11:00 am (it felt particularly early due to the lack of sleep I had experienced, but really this is a normal human time to be awake). We’ve been wanting to do this the entire time we’ve been in London but it was nice to save it for a rainy day (LITERALLY… it rained all day) and go in the midst of some end-of-semster stress.
The Tower was so beautiful, it’s right off the river which makes for some killer views. 
(also look at my cute friends!)
The Tower is home to lots of gruesome stories, Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were both executed just outside the Tower Chapel. It’s also home to the crown jewels, which after waiting in a 40 minutes line (these rocks are very popular), we got to get up close and personal with. 
The diamond on this crown is called the Cullinan II, cut from a much larger diamond, it weighs 317.4 carats. The Cullinan II is part of a much larger diamond that originally weighed 3,106 carats! (for all of you wondering, the average wedding ring is 0.9 carats and Kim Kardashians $1.6 million ring was just 15 carats! So there you go, needless to say, this diamond is worth so. so. much. money.) The largest diamond that now exists from the original rock is the Cullinan I, which is mounted on Her Majesty, The Queen’s royal scepter. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip was staring at priceless gems and wishing I was next in line for the throne.
The last thing I will mention was the men who work and live in the Tower of London; The Yeoman of the Guard!
These are men who have served in the armed forces 22 years and have garnered an honorable record during their time. In turn, they get to work and live within the tower walls, their homes are along the perimeter of the Tower and their doors are painted a lovely shade of blue. We got to hear one of the guards tell stories about the famous people who have spent time in the Tower of London.
Overall would 10/10 recommend to a friend! We had a great day, to prove it here’s a picture of us plotting to steal the crown jewels (haha just kidding, that’s probably high treason).
Image sources:
The crown – http://joellemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/tumblr_m3u2o79mFG1rozbbxo1_12801.jpg
Yeoman Guards –
https://kpbs.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2013/11/01/SOLT_YeomanWarderAlanKingshott_YeomanGaolerChrisMorton_tx800.jpg?aae402d4163f394116c3dd6e602f75682c526327