steepholm

On my first visit to England, I happily spent an afternoon at the Tower of London. That meant looking at some really old buildings (old not just by American standards) and queuing to see the Crown Jewels.

The only place the monarchy was relevant there, despite the name, was one display case. In place of a "foot-washing basin" there was a printed card saying "in use." I happened to be there on Maundy Thursday, a holiday that had never before (or since) been in any way relevant to my life.

When I was in London with cattitude a decade later, what I went back to wasn't the tower, it was the British Museum and the half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square. There is no shortage of things for tourists to do, see, and spend money on, not just in England but in the rest of the United Kingdom.