Tower Bridge

So continuing my theme of historical buildings as part of this blog (maybe I should set up a specific historical sites blog and work on my travel-writing skills? *shrug*)...this time I am talking about a bridge, possibly one of the prettiest bridges that there is in the world.

On Saturday we battled our way through crowds of blue and white painted Gillingham supporters on the underground to get to my best friend and her husband for lunch in central London. It was a humid, overcast day, but after lunch we decided to do something touristy that might give us some respite from the heat. We headed up to Tower Bridge, none of us ever having gone up it before. It's one of those great London monuments I take completely for-granted. I've always liked the look of it. I was impressed when, in my first year at university, I was at a cocktail party aboard the Dixie Queen for the James Bond Appreciation Society, and the bridge lifted to let us through. I found it highly amusing when I was a teenager walking along it to get to HMS Belfast with my scout troop when I heard an excited American tourist loudly exclaim, "Wow! So this is Tower Bridge!" And when my old uni housemate and I took our Canadian friend to see the Tower of London, I got lots of pretty pictures of the bridge, taken from the tower battlements. But no, perhaps in true British resident style, I hadn't actually been up one of the towers itself, and neither had my companions.

So, we climbed the many stairs to the top - not the most sensible of choices on a particularly hot day when our water was in short supply - at least it was cool in the tower. The galleries were worth the climb (except the freaky barrel organ music playing the background - I mean seriously, what is that about?). The views up and down the Thames were stunning - Canary Wharf on the one side; St Paul's Cathedral, HMS Belfast, City Hall, and the London Eye on the other. We stayed there for some time, practising our panoramic photography skills, and enjoying the cool breeze that drifted in through the open windows. I must say, much of the exhibitions on the history of the bridge and its construction, on bridges around the world, and on the bridge hydraulics etc were lost on us, although my fiance indulged in the sciencey stuff. Sorry to say I let down the history side of things, but personally I was more taken with the view :)

We descended from the opposing tower to the one we had climbed - don't ask me which is which, I have no sense of left or right, or north, south, east, and west :P I am good with directions though, go figure! I digress... So, we then followed the exciting blue line along the pavement to the engine rooms, which were vaguely fascinating. At least, my fiance and my friend's husband seemed pretty interested in all the old equipment. My friend and I were disappointed with the lack of hands-on displays and toys to mess around with - the Science Museum it ain't, bah! Although there was some hands-on stuff right at the end, hooray! And to be fair, it is a fairly small museum.

It was then on to Mr Whippy ice-cream cone complete with flake by the river! This was a new novelty for me, as having grown up on the coast and near forests, I always associate Mr Whippys with those places. It's just not a London thing. Ah well, it was fun to be a London tourist for a couple of hours. We then reverted to the less touristy activity of a drink in the OXO Tower, looking across the river, and watching the world go by. I guess it's technically still spring, but hooray for beautiful summer afteroons spent with best friends :D As much as the city generally stresses me out on this occasion I couldn't have felt more relaxed.