Who knew it was a world heritage site! The Tower of London was not only a royal palace but an infamous prison, a place of execution, beheading if you were lucky, from high treason. If you were a commoner, hanging was an hour of suffering by strangulation. You were considered lucky if a commoner pulled on your dangling legs to hasten death. The last public execution took place in 1780, collecting more viewers than the population in London. The flimsy wooden stands surrounding the square collapsed due to the weight of the crowds and killed six viewers. Anne Boleyn 2nd wife of King Henry Vlll beheaded for trumped up charges of adultry in 1536.

Once again, our tour guide from London Walks was an encyclopedia of British knowledge rambling off dates names and incidences seamlessly. After two hours he left us to explore on our own but picking the most crowded weekend of the year the cues were too long. Hence a visit to the Crown Jewels were aborted. Besides, my feet were already numb and I couldn’t wait in the cold so I abandoned the Tower of London.

The rest of the day was kind of a bust, everything was either booked or closed as I arrive late on a busy Sunday. So I walked and walked, admiring the unique architecture of London’s sky rises. Walked to Spitalfields market full of stores and pop ups. Then the underground to Soho, Chinatown, finally the West End. My plan is to purchase same day-tics where they release 20 seats in the front row, 1st come 1st serve for 20 euros: Girl from the North Country, music and lyrics by Bob Dylan and a recommended, sold out show Everybody’s talking about Jamie. Today I logged 8 miles. Tomorrow I move from my fleabag hotel to my London flat for the next eight days where I will be in luxury taking hot baths making my breakfast and sleeping in a queen-size bed with views!