Tower Bridge from the Inside Out

*I received two complimentary tickets from Tower Bridge Exhibition.

 

I mentioned in my post yesterday Cheers, Madame! how much we love the Tower Bridge.

Last week we decided to take a much closer look at the beautiful bridge by visiting the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

It was fascinating and you should add it to your London To See List.

After getting our tickets, (only £8 for adults/£3.40 for children) an elevator took us right up to the top level.  We watched a short video, it was time to explore the two walkways.

There are exhibits in each but the real highlight is the views.  The Shard and the London Eye are great for views but this is a terrific option for much less money.

I'm very freaked out by heights so I was concerned that the East and West walkways were open air as they were originally.  But they are now completely enclosed with little windows that open for getting the perfect shot of those London views.

I still can't get over the fact... that is the Tower of London.  THE Tower of London!  Amazing.

This feat of Victorian Engineering opened to the public in 1892.  It's built of 11,000 tons of steel.  The stone and granite is just for looks.  It's so interesting to see how it was made.  It took 400 workers eight years to build the bridge.

Your visit will only take an hour or so, depending on how long you want to linger over those views.  It's great value for money and it's going on my list of things to do when we have visitors. 

 

 There is something so beautiful about this steel structure.  I love the steel beams and rivets and the power behind it.  But yet, it's just so pretty and graceful.  One of my favorite features is the blue with red and white accents.  The bridge was originally green and only painted with these festive colors in 1977 for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee.

The final stop is the Engine Rooms.  This suspension/bascule bridge is the only one on the Thames that opens to let ships pass.  It was originally powered by steam and converted to electricity in the 70's.  The bridge is still raised about 1,000 times a year.  You can check the bridge lift times and coordinate your visit to see this amazing bridge in action.

The Tower Bridge is featured prominently in my blog  (here and  here specifically).

That 2nd link has my very favorite picture, can you guess which one?

I just love her, don't you?

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 *I received two complimentary tickets to Tower Bridge Exhibit for the purposes of review.
All photos, writing and opinions are my own.
As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide. 
 

I Spy Friday featuring Our Bridge

So, today...

I've officially been living in the UK for one whole year!!!

Can you believe it?  I certainly can't.

Some days if feels like we've  just arrived and others it seems we've been here forever.

I need to sit down and write my One Year Well-Expat Check Up;
to really take a look at what the last year has meant to me.


After work tonight, we are off on a quick Winter Trip to celebrate our anniversary and TE's birthday!

We're flying to Zurich, Switzerland,

then taking a train to Salzburg, Austria via an overnight stop in Innsbruck, Austria.

We will be flying back on Wednesday with tons of pictures!

In the mean time, here are a few photos of Tower Bridge.

It's my favorite site in London. 

We have dubbed it "our bridge" and I can't pass by without taking a picture.

 

 

 

Fun Facts about Tower Bridge:

It's often mistakenly call London Bridge which is just upstream.

Construction began in 1886 and the bridge opened in 1894.

It was originally greyish-green but was painted red, white & blue in 1977

for Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee.

It's a suspension bridge and is opened about 1,000 times each year.

The speed limit is 20 mph and 

every London cabbie claims at least one speeding ticket from Tower Bridge.  

 I even got a 3D Tower Bridge puzzle for Christmas!

I'll post another picture when I've finished it.  

I hope you have a lovely weekend!!

xoxo

Selena

London 2012 The Happiest Place on Earth!

London has given Disneyland a run for its money.  

It has definitely been a happy, wonderful place these last few weeks.

Coming up to the Olympics there was quite a bit of British grumbling... 

about gridlock, game lanes, security, crowded trains, etc.  

But a few weeks before we started to notice a change in air.  

When we flew back into Heathrow after our cruise, the airport was suddenly draped in pink and purple.

There were special lines and kiosks set up.  

And those beautiful rings!

As we walked outside we were greeted with a local choir.  They were fantastic and it was wonderful to see so many people stopping to smile and snap a photo.  I confess, I had a moment.  

The Jubilee bunting was now replaced with 

Olympic bunting that is strung from post to pole.  

This is Shad Thames, our new neighborhood.  It is so full of history!  

Stay tuned for a future post.  I can't wait to tell you about it.  

 This is Hayes Galleria at London Bridge.

We were strolling by and just caught the end of a free concert.  

This is the HMS Belfast.

We haven't visited yet, but it's on our list for when my Mom comes to visit. 

And, of course, this gorgeous bridge.  I just couldn't walk by it without taking a picture.

Several times a day the rings would fold up for a bit.  

Then they would slowly lower to great applause.  

London dressed thousands of volunteers in pink and purple and stationed them around the city to answer questions.  They were friendly and helpful.  

I think London should adopt this plan year round.  They were fantastic!

Large screens were also set up throughout the city.

They were terrific spots to gather for a picnic and to soak up the atmosphere.  

The entire city was just buzzing.  It was so exciting, I can't even describe it.  

Hundreds of thousands descended upon London from all over the world.  

A lot of the countries took over a little corner of the city to set up villages.

We visited the Swiss Village at Burrough Market.  

Swiss chocolate?  Yes, Please!  Too bad the sample I picked up was Wasabi flavored!  Ack!!!

They are very proud of their Roger Federer, as they should be.  

He just won Wimbledon a few months ago.  

The streets of London became one of the most exciting venues for the bike races and marathons.

We headed down to Trafalgar Square to get a glimpse of the Women's Marathon.  

It was hard to get close enough for a picture.  TE held the camera up over the crowd and clicked a few times.

It was exciting to be in the middle of it all.  

Trafalgar Square is one of my favorite places in London. 

The blue boxes in the photo above are the Media boxes in front of the National Gallery.  We could watch as various countries filmed their Olympic Coverage.  

Nelson was looking quite snazzy.

He was wearing a new hat in honor of the festivities.  Don't you love it?

It has been a Great British Summer!   London and Great Britain should be so proud.

They have welcomed the world and been the perfect hosts. 

Hello from the Happiest Place on Earth!

And in honor of I Spy Friday (which I've been sorely neglecting), I was thrilled to see this sight one afternoon from the balcony.  

A Mariachi Band!  It made me so homesick for San Antonio!

Don't you think San Antonio would be a terrific host city for the Olympics?

"Cheerio!" until next time.

xoxo

Selena

All pictures are property of the Selena from Oh, the places we will go.