It was a cold gloomy day in London when we made our way to the Tower of London, a commanding historic castle situated on the north bank of River Thames. Having served various purposes including an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, this historical attraction was my next outing with sis Intan on our second day in London.
Tower of London I felt very touristy while visiting the Tower of London. I did not want to spend my entire vacation just shopping and dining without doing something touristy so this was a great experience for yours truly. While waiting for sis and family to arrive, we took our own little tour of the surrounding area enjoying the beautiful view of the Tower Bridge. 
Tower Bridge
Tower Shop selling Tower of London souvenirs
Mariuca ♥ BIt was cold and I needed a second dose of coffee so we headed to the ever-popular Paul, a common sight in the city of London for something hot and sweet. 
Coffee por favor!
Cakes and Pastry
Sweet eclairs & macarons
Waiting in the coldSis arrived with Issy and Felix in tow and after purchasing our tickets; we snapped several more pictures before making our way to the entrance of the magnificent Tower of London.
Love this shot of Intan, Felix and Issy!
The cute family
Tower of London in full view
Huggy wuggy Issy
Lanthorn TowerOverlooking the River Thames, the White Tower was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 with the aim to impress, subdue and terrify Londoners whilst deterring the invasion of foreign powers. An iconic symbol of London and Britain, the White Tower is also one of the world’s premier tourist attractions.
The White TowerThe Fit for A King exhibition in the White Tower was opened on April 1, 2010 and showcased a stunning display of five hundred years of spectacular royal armour whilst offering a fascinating insight into the personalities, power and physical size of England’s kings. 
Diamond-encrusted weapons fit for a King
Swords so huge I was in awe!
Kings' Personal Horses
Torture at the Tower was our next stop where we cringed in fear looking at the ancient torture machinery and instruments used to torture prisoners back then.
Famous for having six wives, King Henry VIII executed two of his wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard in the Tower of London for their inability to provide him with the son he always wanted. 
Diamond-encrusted weapons fit for a King
Swords so huge I was in awe!
Kings' Personal HorsesTorture at the Tower was our next stop where we cringed in fear looking at the ancient torture machinery and instruments used to torture prisoners back then.
Issy and her "surprised" look
Manacles
To clear my mind from the evil pictures lurking in my head after visiting the Torture Chamber, we stopped at the pretty Medieval Palace Shop. There was a cute comical executioner model on sale for £7.99 where you can cut out and make your own executioner model and your poor victim. Difference between this model and the real deal is that you can of course spare your poor victim from execution while enjoying a little laugh! 
Stop to Shop!
Executioner Model
Where to next? We ended our historical tour with a visit to the Jewel House, home to the greatest collection of Crown Jewels in the world and priceless symbols of British monarchy. Here's a picture of me all excited before entering the Jewel House only to be disappointed a few minutes later when I found out that no pictures were allowed inside.
By the time we ended our day in the Tower of London, we were ravenous and sis treated us to a Japanese meal at Wagamama. It was drizzling and I used the cold rainy weather as an excuse to get myself a pink hooded London sweatshirt at a nearby souvenir shop for £18. I thought it was a fantastic buy at first but got a little upset when I later found the same exact sweatshirt in another souvenir store at Covent Garden for a mere £10! 
Anyway, I can't remember the names of these dishes but they were all yummy and I'm gonna make up names for them below. 
Something fishy for Felix 
Something chicken and mushroom for B 
Spicy prawns for Intan 
Squids and chilli dip for meAfter spending an entire day doing something touristy with sis and family, I've had enough of touristy pictures and sightseeing! And the next day was planned exclusively for me - shopping in Bicester Village! 
MARIUCA LOVES
104 comments:
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8-) 8-)
wow so many pics! i love the Tower Bridge.. 8-) 8-) 8-)
hahahaha so cute la Issy and her "surprised" look!! =-O =-O :-D :-D :-D :-D
SPECTACULAR!!! I wanna go there one day! I vow to!! I MUST I MUST!! hahahaha B also said I MUST persuade J!! hahahaahah.. you and B have to help me persuade J!!
But this is such a great place.. I loooove a place that has historical stories and value! You're so lucky to be able to go there.. :D :D
And the pictures are so lovely!! :D :D Thanks for sharing with us and giving us a taste of what it's like to be here. I'm happy already! :D
wah... i want to go to London then to Amsterdam.. ahahh!!!!
Must work hard and save save save.. ... loving the picture and the commentary dearie.. too bad no pictures of the crown jewels.. would love to have seen what collection they have...
and the food.. lol@making up names for them..ahahah.. something fishy for Felix indeed..ahahhaha
yum yum..hmmm those are Jap food? *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW*
I feel like I'm in London edi!!.. eh nice hoodie.. why am I not surprise it's PINK..ahaha
:* :* :* :* Monica FC1!
8-) 8-) LJ FC2!
Thanks for the EE chop ladies, yay! :) :) :)
Nice Tower Bridge! I like! :)
Good thing u did something touristy as it's meant to be haha!
I want the macarons! :)
Wah! Torture chamber? Reminds me of Ripley's Believe Or Not at Genting Highlands! Haha!
Wow! The dishes really look good!! Makes me hungry!
:-D :-D :-D
Wow Mar'! You've really had a great time in London. I am so happy for you! You deserve it! :-D
My boyfriend keeps on telling me about bringing me to London. I've always said no before. But lately, we've planned a little London vacation sometime within this year or later next year. Can't wait!
Thank you so much for sharing your awesome story and the wonderful pics! Hugs! :*
I want squid and chilly dip too. :D
My...the museums there are way better than ours. :D
=-O =-O =-O =-O =-O
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
was late again..sleeping last night.. :-P :-P :-P :-P :-P
GP, u really had great time in London! ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
;) ;) ;) ;) ;)
;) ;) ;)
this is the 1st time i saw many many pictures in a post of u! :-D :-D :-D
enjoy looking at those pictures!! and love Issy!! :* :*
whoaaa quite big diff aye!! :( but nemind worth to buy it! look nice on u! 8-)
wohoooo shopping!! gals love it very muchie!! 8-) 8-) 8-)
wahhh... wat a detailed entry dis one, i feel like i just went to London... hehehe :-D :-D :-D
Awesome pix... aiyooo so skery la the things at the torture chamber! :-E :-E :-E
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What a long nice post ! :-D :-D
Issy is so cute and so chubby! :* :* :*
Have not been to London for decades! =-O =-O =-O
Thanks for this post to remind me of the fun time in London ;)
what a fabulous post. Among all these pics here, i've only been to The Tower Bridge.
The white tower does look impressive. would love to visit it if i ever go to London again.
i particularly like the shot of you and baby Issy, how charming!
everything looks so yummy and i'm drooling all over my keyboard now. LOL!
looking forward to your next post. Until then, happy Thursday!
what a wonderful and romantic places you have been... thanks for sharing Marzie
Truly a magnificent place! London is rich in history.
This is one of the favorite places that I love to visit! :*
Awesome pictures you have there! 8-)
gheeeh whatta lovely views
it seems to be like those in romantic movies
the foods looks very yummy
Europe is just majestically fun place to be
it feels like royalty
have a great day mariuca
Issy has grown so much! You look fab!
Would love to see more of the torture chamber, not interested in jewels. :P
This post make me so wanna go to UK...and I hope it is very soon. I love the sites that you took pictures of and the food .....sounds like you're having so much fun.
:* :* :* :* Hey Mon!
LOL suddenly only after come back from vacay my posts got many pics right? Ha ha! No turning back, more pics to come! :-D :-D
Yeah!! She has this surprised look, which she will show me if she's in da mood ha ha, so cute la Issy! 8-) 8-)
English stail Jap food it seems! ;) ;)
=-O =-O =-O =-O =-O GG!
Morning and here's a whole pack of VS just for GG! 8-) 8-)
Sure or nooooot sleeping GG? *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* :-P :-P :-P
Thanks sweetie, I did have a wonderful time in London, wish to go back again some day! :-D :-D O:-) O:-) *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW*
;) ;) ;) ;) Thanks GG!
Ha ha ha best tu LJ, and sounds like an awesome plan. First to London and then terus bersuka-ria in Amsterdam ahaks! =-X =-X ;) ;)
Thanks so much dearie, glad to know u enjoyed the commentary, yay! Yup no pics of jewels but they were awesome.. felt like a Queen seeing all the glittering expensive jewels, I wan! :-D :-D :-D
He he cause tak sempat snap pics of menu, the waitress dah remove menus cepat2, all restos like dat! >:o >:o
Woot, so glad u felt like u were in London then, my mission for this post is thus achieved, thanks LJ! Ha ha pink was da best.. abaden! =-X =-X :-D :-D :-D
Yuhuuu Shemah! Ha ha abaden, see B oso said u MUST persuade J, so it's all up to YOU and ur persuasion skills ha ha! Sooner or later, I'm sure he'll give in and then you can start planning your getaway for real woo hoo! :* :* :*
Yeah, I was happy too cause I felt like I did something yg ada substance while in London.. not just shop and eat je but got to visit a historical site with an amazing history, loved my experience here. Thanks sweetie, byk gils ambik gambar, non stop snapping cause did not want to miss a thing he he... =-X =-X :-D :-D :-D
Me too so cool la the Tower Bridge! :* :*
:-[ :-[ :-[ I agree Foong, I told B the same thing when we just arrived here, at least I felt touristy when in London instead of just shopping away right? Ha ha! :-D :-D
I did not get to taste the macarons though I can tell they're just divine from looking at them! :* :*
Wahhhh Genting got Ripley's meh? I didn't know lol..goes to show how long it's been since I took a trip to Genting! Last time went there to watch Malaysian Idol finale...yrs ago! =-X =-X ;) ;) ;)
Yup, but all not spicy... even though they say spicy but biasa je... ;) ;)
:-D :-D :-D Hi Maxi!
LOL yummy la the squids Tekkaus, good choice for me! :-D :-D
I have to agree with that too Tekkaus although I'm not sure if ours have changed much over the years, long time no go local museum! *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW*
;) ;) Hi Caroline!
:* :* :* :* Hey :*Michael!
I'm happy for me too ha ha, thanks sweetie and are u and BF planning your romantic getaway any time soon? *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* :-D
It was my pleasure to bring home some wonderful shots and sights of London, glad u enjoyed them Maxi! :* :* :*
Eh my HRC gathering so far the most pics ha ha 36.. this one less! ;) ;)
Yay the pics are meant for yur viewing pleasure, thanks Caroline! :* :*
Woot, me too love Issy, so comel kan? Thanks sweetie... :-D :-D
Thanks sweetie, lucky pink kaler right? Yeah big difference, I shld have waited before buying but didn't think I'd find one later at lower price sigh.. nemind! Like u said still nice so yay! :* :* :*
Ha ha hi-five, when is ur next shopping trip? :-$ :-$
Hey Nessa! Yay I got u feeling like u were in London with me, thanks for reading and viewing my pics sweetie! Scary and sad oso looking at the instruments...can't help but imagine in ur head know what I mean? :-E :-E :-E :-E
Thanks Michael! :-D :-D
:-D :-D :-D She is indeed Michael, love my fluffy baby niece ha ha! :* :* :*
For decades Michael? Lol so when u planning to go next? :-D :-D :-D
You're very welcome Michael, I had fun with this post, glad u did too! :* :*
yay thanks so much LR! Where else did u visit besides TOL? :-D :-D :-D
I'm sure u and ur travelling ways will get u back to London soon sweetie! :-D :-D
I adore that shot too LR, thanks to B for snapping this one for me... :* :* :*
Ha ha thanks for coming by to enjoy the food too LR, they were tasty indeed and the cold weather always makes me hungry... :* :* :*
Yay, my bext post will feature more yummy delights.. til then.. 8-) 8-)
No worries BD, I enjoy sharing my pics and stories with u and the rest of my readers.. have a good one! :* :* :*
Hey June, thanks! And yup.. London is a must-visit for everyone, at least once right? Hope u get to go on vacation soon then... :-D :-D
Woot, thanks Prince! London is not only rich in history but ultra romantic too, I think it's the weather, the architecture of the buildings and just the feel of being in a strange place that makes it all the more magical! :* :* :* :*
U got that right, which dish looks the most yummy? *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* :-D
Ha ha I hear you..I really did enjoy my stay in Europe, hope to return soon... *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* :-$ :-$ :-$
U too Prince, thanks so much for stopping by.. 8-) 8-)
She's a big girl now ECL, and can talk edi so cute to hear her speak ha ha! :* :* :*
Not interested in jewels ECL? ha ha well the collection was truly amazing, I'm glad I got the chance to view them here.. :* :*
Yay, thanks so much BingKee! It thrills me to know my post got u excited enough to go to UK for ur next vacay woot! I did, I did have a lot of fun and the food was awesome! Hope to return to this beautiful country one day... *DONT_KNOW* *DONT_KNOW* :* :* :*
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Love n Hugs from Genie Princess!