Aboard the Cutty Sark

Built in 1869, Cutty Sark is the world's only surviving tea clipper.  It was restored and permanently installed at the Greenwich waterfront in 1957. 

Cutty Sark completed 8 trips to China for tea

Life preserver

A model of the clipper

In the crew cabin

Up on deck

Captain's quarters

First Officer's desk

Cafe beneath the hull.  The ship was elevated 3 meters 
off its dry dock in 2012 to preserve the warping hull.

Whisky named after the famous ship

Support struts holding the 920 ton ship aloft.

Fashion at the V&A

Today we checked out the fashion exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington.

Looks of the 1810's

All the rage in the 1830's

In style in the 1770's 

1880's haute couture

Velvet trimmed with Arctic fox fur, 1885
Bodice, 1895

Whalebone corset, 1900
Wool jacket & skirt, 1895

Early 20th century modern woman

Evening dress by
Elsa Schiaparelli, 1940

Scottish tweed suit
with gas mask bag, 1942

Constructed from accordion-pleated ribbons, this 1949
butterfly evening cape was designed for prima ballerina
Ninette de Valois.

This 1966 Mila Schon ensemble was
worn by Lee Radziwill, Jackie O's sister,
to Truman Capote's Black and White Ball
in November of that year.

Bold fashions of the 1970's

Christian Dior by John Galliano, 2006
Christopher Kane, 2009

1930's active wear for beach & sport

 

The Tower of London

One of the city's most popular attractions, The Tower of London normally sees about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors per day; in these precarious times they are down to around 800.  This suited us fine as it's not often one has an entire medieval fortress to oneself.  Built by William the Conqueror in 1078, the "Tower" is a sprawling complex of turrets, ramparts, keeps, moats, drawbridges, and battlements.  It has been a grand palace, a royal residence, a prison, an armory, a treasury, and a menagerie.  The epic span of history here amazes!

Entrance

Inside Wakefield Tower, built for Henry III in 1220

A reproduction of Henry III's throne

View from the Tower south across the Thames to the Shard

A silver chalice

View from the ramparts of the "Walkie-Talkie" Building

Guarding the Crown Jewels

Entrance to the Crown Jewels, a dazzling collection of royal regalia
including a crown featuring the Koh-i-Noor diamond, one of the largest
cut diamonds in the world.

One of the many ravens-in-residence, legendary Tower guardians

This raven hung out beneath our table at the Tower's appropriately named Raven Cafe.

An artist's conception of the Tower of London under construction in 1080

The armory exhibit within The White Tower, the Tower of London's castle keep.

Circa 1610 armor of the young 
Henry Prince of Wales, son of James I.
Henry died of typhoid fever at age 18.

Carved heads, 1685.  From left, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, and Charles I.

Clockwise from upper left, Edward III, Henry V, Henry VII, and William III.

The Lumley Horseman, 1580.
Oldest known English equestrian statue.

Wooden head of Queen Elizabeth I, 1780.

Some light reading.  Actually, a ledger of Tower of London armory inventory
from the late 1670's.

The Chapel of St. John, built by William the Conqueror

An 1880's Tower of London tour book

A memorial at the site of several infamous beheadings, including Anne Boleyn, 2nd wife
of Henry VIII; Catherine Howard, 5th wife of Henry VIII; and Lady Jane Grey,
the "Nine Days' Queen", eliminated to make way for Mary I, Henry VIII's eldest daughter. 

A glimpse of the iconic Tower Bridge.

The Queen's House, residence of the Tower's chief officers since 1540.

The White Tower