At some point during the last two years London Tower was invaded by steel wool animals. Baboons, polar bears, lions and an elephant have all appeared at various spots throughout the Tower grounds.
The Monkeys are Taking Over
Apparently, the Tower was used as a menagerie/holding cell/terrible place to live-and-die for all sorts of exotic animals given to the monarchy as gifts from far away lands a long time ago.
The monkeys were given the boot after one of them killed a baby.
I blame this one.
What cages? There were no cages, only rooms that you were free to walk around in, how dangerous can a monkey be anyway?
The things you learn revisiting places.
I am now convinced that the Tower is one of the best sights to be seen while visiting London. You get so much history, a free tour, awesome views of the Tower Bridge and London’s most iconic skyscrapers, The Gherkin and The Shard.
It is always neat to see how places change over time (and how some other places don’t change at all), skylines are almost like living beings morphing slowly into something that will eventually be unrecognizable from it’s former state. The Shard, for instance, was apparently just beginning construction only two years ago…
Tower Green in 2010
Tower Green in 2012, notice a change?
And it’s equally refreshing to revisit a spot that withstands the tides of time and change, remaining just as awe inspiring as the first time you set eyes on it.
2010 on the left, 2012 on the right. Ahh, continuity!