[FYI – since I posted on Tuesday this week, I’ve decided to keep things organized by posting again on Thursday.  Don’t ask – I just like the look of it.  I’ll be back to M-W-F next week.]

There are a lot of things to see at the Tower of London.

One of the things that I really wanted to do, but did not do, was take a Yeoman Warder Tour.  I think I arrived at the Tower just after a tour had left, and I didn’t want to wait around for the next tour.  I must have arrived at a wonky time (or the weather was bad or something), because the next tour wasn’t for 45 minutes.

The Yeoman Warder Tour is free with the price of admission.  (FYI: Your admission ticket will include a voluntary donation towards the upkeep of the Tower, but you can choose to pay that donation or not – it’s only a couple dollars).  You could also purchase audio guides, or you can wander around and read all the things.  I usually go with the last, but someday I will return to the Tower and do a Yeoman Warder Tour.

The area wasn’t particularly crowded when I was there – I don’t recall any difficulty moving around or getting to exhibits.  It may have been raining earlier in the day, so that might have had something to do with it.  The Tower is considered one of the top tourist sites in London, so it probably gets really crowded in the summer.

There’s a lot of stories and history about this place, so I’m going to keep things simple and not cram too much into each post.  Hence the “Part 1” in the title.

Up Next: The Crown Jewels!