Day 1: Tower of London & London Fire Walking Tour

Today was the first official day of our BSP Library course! We went to the Tower of London and did a walking tour based around the London Fire.

Our time at the Tower of London was entirely self-guided, so I was able to explore the museums at my own pace. The area was indoor and outdoor, which was nice because it was a cloudy, misty day, and as soon as I would go inside, it would be waaay too hot. As for the content of the museum, it was overall interesting. One of the few things I knew about the tower before our visit was the ravens that live there, but it was a bummer to find out that their wings are clipped so they don't fly away. The armour and weaponry in the White Tower was exactly what you'd expect from a museum like this. The exhibit on the crown jewels was a little more unexpected, and while the long queue almost kept me out, I'm glad I was able to look around the exhibit. The part of the tower I thought was most interesting was the carvings made in the prisoners' tower of family crests, poetry, prayers, and art. These carvings were almost spooky, and the level of detail was very surprising.

After the Tower of London, we grabbed lunch and met up at the London Fire Memorial for a walking tour. While the walking tour was long, and this was my first experience with aching feet on this trip, the tour was phenomenal! Our guide did a great job presenting the information and connecting us to each stop. It was easy to follow the history and geographical locations he was going through with us. Additionally, the tour guide would always try to stop us in an area with shade or with seating, and made sure we had a break spot in the middle of the tour in a location with public restrooms.

London Fire Memorial. Our tour guide explained each section of this memorial and even covered changes that have been made to it over the years.