Weekend Adventures: The Tower of London

This weekend, I saw a 530-carat diamond, and no, it wasn't on Kim Kardashian's finger. After a 40-minute wait in line, we were finally able to walk through the Crown Jewels exhibit at the Tower of London, and let's just say it was breathtaking:

via hrp.org.uk

"Can I keep it?" I jokingly begged Christopher as we stared at the massive chunk atop the Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross.

"I'll get you one bigger than that one day," he said.

"Nah. I'm happy with the one I have," I replied, holding up my engagement ring to it. "Anyway, you couldn't bring that thing on the subway… what would be the point?"

We ended up spending the whole day at the historic castle, checking out Henry VIII's armor (from his young and fit days to his older and much wider days), wandering in and out of prison cells (so Orange is the New Black of me, right?), and getting a guided tour by one of the Yeomen Warders (commonly known as Beefeaters--which our guide didn't know how they officially got that nickname in the first place).

Our guide--he and his family get to live on the property. I'm so jealous!

As we explored inside the castle walls throughout the day, volunteers were outside planting ceramic poppies to honor the soldiers from Britain and the British colonies who died in World War I. The installation will ultimately feature 888,246 red flowers. So happy we got to see this… it's quite the sight!

A Sea Of Ceramic Poppies Honors Britain's WWI Dead at the Tower of London

While walking around inside, I also caught my first glimpse of the London Bridge and proceeded to get that song stuck in my head for the rest of the day… "my fair lady."

A view of the London Bridge from the Tower of London

Definitely add this to your list of must-dos if you haven't done it and are planning a trip to London! Click here for information and to buy your tickets online.

The place was massive!

I might have left without that 530-carat diamond, but the experience made me so much richer (sorry--I had to!) Have you ever been to the Tower of London? What was your favorite part?