
I visited the Victoria & Albert Museum to look at some parts of the collection that I hadn't seen yet. On my way there I stopped by a Christmas market in Hyde Park and then walked by Harrods and Harvey Nichols to see their Christmas window displays.
I was pleased to see that, just like in the Christmas market in Paris, churros were being sold at the food stands of the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. I was glad that I stopped by the London market as the Paris market was lacking a creepy animatronic Santa next to the churro stand.
I thought at first that the windows at Harrods were fairy tale-themed, but soon noticed Disney branding on the displays. The windows each featured a designer’s take on a Disney princess dress.
Snow White in Oscar de la Renta
While planning for this trip I realized that I had never been to the Tower of London, so I decided to check it out. I didn’t realize that the "Tower" was actually a large complex. I think my pre-conceived notions were all related to the imprisonment of various historical figures and it was interesting to see how many roles (in addition to prison) the buildings have played over time. The Tower is currently the home of the Crown Jewels and a collection of historical armor and weapons, but it has also been the site of a zoo and the Royal Mint, among other things.
I was creeped out by the huge ravens that live on one of the lawns in the complex and fascinated by the graffiti carved into the walls of one of the rooms in the Beauchamp Tower (one of the buildings) by prisoners held there in 1500s and 1600s.
