Sights Along the Thames River

So, just how did I get from Westminster to the Tower of London? By a boat ride down the Thames! *epic geek out* Without further ado, here are some of the sights I saw along the river.

The Globe Theater. I'll get up a post of my full tour of that later on. 

Tower Bridge! *squee* So pretty!

Here was a fun bit of goings-on: since it was the Queen's birthday, there was a  gun salute (below) going on right where the boat normally docked. Therefore, we ended up on a tour boat in the middle of the Themes, by the Tower of London, while a gun salute was going on shore, air flyovers were going on overhead, and general pomp and circumstance abounded. Incredible!

Up next, my tour of the Tower itself!

THE ORIGIN OF INDUSTRY! Iron Bridge Gorge

It's no big secret that we steampunks have something of a love-hate relationship with the Industrial Revolution.On one hand, it brought a whimpering end to the heyday of art and craftsmanship and forced millions of people into wage slavery, but on the other hand... gears! And other shiny things!

Love it or hate it, the Iron Bridge Gorge is where it all started out. With the right combination of coal and iron ore resources, and some guy who had the idea to work iron with coal instead of wood, the industrial age began with this big bridge here:

Pretty isn't it? Ah, lovely old days, when designers actually bothered with ornament instead of just cost.
Speaking of the past, tomorrow's post is Blists Hill Victorian Town, the massive and epic outdoor museum built to accompany the industrial history of this place!