April 23, 2003 - page 3

Some of our stops on these tours have been recognizable names, like the Tower of London.  (I hadn’t yet visited the Tower, so I’m glad it was on the agenda.)  Its construction was begun 950 years ago, during the reign of William the Conqueror.  At one of its more infamous structures, Tower Green, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of Henry VIII’s wives, were beheaded.  In the Jewel House I saw, of course, the British Crown Jewels, including the legendary Imperial State Crown.  The woman just ahead of me in line let out an audible gasp when she set eyes on it.
 
Some of our stops have been a bit off the tourist-beaten path, like a statue of Gandhi (still fairly well known, though) found in a beautiful public square near our flats.  But all the sites have had their unique value, and the outings have been more than worth our time.
 
I’ll check in one final time next week for our last hurrah.