...I never did find out what this little house was (probably a janitor's outhouse or something), but the more I stretched my imagination, the more fairy-tale like it became.

...then I walked upon these white birds, which was pretty incredible.

The Tower of London:
(in short)
Founded nearly a millennium ago and expanded upon over the centuries since, the Tower of London has protected, housed, imprisoned and been for many the last sight they saw on Earth. It has been the seat of British government and the living quarters of monarchs ... It has housed lions, bears, and (to this day) flightless ravens ... not to mention notorious traitors and framed members of court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights.

*This was probably one of our most spontaneous ventures to view London's historical structures, but it paid off. We came late, so we only had about an hour to view what normally would take about 4 hours. We snapped a bunch of pictures, read as quickly as we could, and ducked in and out of as many individual towers as we possible. I'm glad we decided to do it though... thanks bro!

(more details...)
This complex of turrets and dungeons has housed both royalty and scoundrels. Built by William the Conqueror on the site of a Roman fortress, the tower contains contributions from its residents over the ages. A series of walls surround the central White Tower, constructed in the 11th century. The inner wall includes 13 towers; the outer wall was once surrounded by a moat. Drained in 1843, the area is now a swath of grass around the tower walls. High-profile criminals were paraded when the tower was used as a prison. Executions were conducted outside on Tower Hill, or inside on Tower Green. Only six individuals were beheaded within the tower, for fear that their public executions would incite riots. The Wakefield Towers housed the Royal Apartments until Oliver Cromwell destroyed them. The White Tower itself houses a display of historic armor and weaponry. The tower's basement contains the remains a 2,000-year -old Roman well. The highlight of the tour is the Crown Jewels. The collection includes the Imperial State Crown and other coronation regalia, as well as a number of older crowns.

Horse armor and Knight armor exhibition within the London Tower...

Horse armor and Knight armor exhibition within the London Tower... (2)

Horse armor and Knight armor exhibition within the London Tower...(3)

...more armor...

Guns...

...and more guns...

....and guns...

...and a whole mess of guns!

These two suits of armor were said to be the largest and smallest suits of their time...

This particular suit on my right here was designed to fit the body of a man reaching in height of 6'10''. This, of course, held a special place with my brother and I, due to the fact that we stand at around 6'8''.

...then it was my brother's turn. He's alittle taller than I, so this might have fit him just right.

"The Beefeater"... Yeah, I know, it's a typical shot, but I've never taken a picture of these guys during my previous visits, so I had to do it just once.

Last but not least: above is a photo of the infamous Bloody Tower, where -- it's believed-- in 1483 the Duke of Gloucester imprisoned his two young nephews, the princes who were the rightful heirs to the crown. They disappeared; he became King Richard the Third.

Big Ben:
(this guard wasn't too pleased, so I took the image quickly)

Big Ben

London is a Candidate City for the 2012 Olympics
http://www.london2012.org/en

The Tower Bridge taken from the London Tower
*Tower Bridge has stood over the River Thames in London since 1894 and is one of the finest, most recognisable bridges in the World.