day 4 - tower of london, IWM

We started the day out with the Tower of London.  It was pretty interesting. I definitely enjoyed the crown jewels. The sceptre with the cross was unreal, a 530 karat diamond? Are you kidding? It was amazing. I would love to just hold that thing in my hand, it would fit perfectly since it's practically the size of my fist. And all the gold dishes they have for coronation banquet ceremonies, ca-ra-zy. It amazes me how detailed and glamorous all of it was. Out of this world. Some other places were pretty cool. Seeing the armory, the White Tower, the chopping block where heads rolled and the torture chamber. Interesting stuff. Such a rich history.


Another John fact about London:
The ravens in the Tower of London court are actually only there to protect the crown jewels. Anyone trying to steal them will be pecked to death.... and that would be a pointless death because the crown jewels are fake anyways.


Afterwards we went to the Imperial War Museum. Wow. Seriously. Wow. There was so much in that museum and once again, I didn't even come close to finishing despite the multiple hours spent inside. There were old airplanes and guns and canons and tanks, a photo exhibit featuring highly detailed and blown up portraits of soldiers, a walkway you could go through replicating what trenches were like, an exhibit going through all the wars after WW1 with artifacts and so much information your brain will melt... and lastly, a holocaust exhibit. Rick, Tia, Mirielle and I spent almost 3 hours in the holocaust exhibit alone. It was very well done, I like how they laid it out. It started out with the all the small things that Hitler did that led up to the horrors of the concentration camps towards the end. I was holding it together pretty well until the end of the exhibit where they had piles and piles of shoes from the camps. All I could think about was what the people who were wearing those shoes must have been thinking and feeling and how one moment they were wearing those shoes and the next moment they were dead. And then I saw a small pair of children's shoes. And I lost it. I just cried. It was heartbreaking and horrible. I just can't believe that someone born with the light of Christ could make choices that would lead to such evil. It really is a testament that the little things make up who we are... whether they be good or whether they be bad.

When the museum closed, Clark and I explored some streets in London that were just lovely. What I would give to live in a place like this!

And lastly, Carlos entertained me with magic tricks. I was like a 6 year old in a candy shop. I love magic tricks!

Here are some picks, I'm off to bed :)