[Wrecked944]

I was a history major in school. So London rocked my sorry world. The Tower was unbelievable. Make a mental note of the age of each building if you go so you can compare them. For example, the central Keep dates to the mid 11th century. Next to it is a wall fragment from the time of Caesar. Interesting to compare the layered structure of Roman fortification walls vs the "building block" approach of the Normans 1000 years later.

Also see Westminster Abby. Hell, spend all day there if you can. The grave stones alone are amazing. Sure, the big names are all there, but I also spent a lot of time checking out the "lesser" tomb stones and saw a lot of names associated with major families in European History (for instance, a member of the Paleologan family of emperors from Byzantium is buried there with little fanfare). And check out Queen Elizabeth's tomb and who it sits on top of. The story it tells is a very sad one. There is also a small section of the church that dates back to the 9th century, IIRC. Totally different architectural style. Cool.

And if you are a partier, go to Soho. It was there I first drank absinthe since it is legal in England. I did it for...um...historical research since the green devil was a prominent fixture in 19th century bohemian life. And yes, it is green. Can't say I recommend it, though - unless you like the taste of cleaning fluid.

The sense of having a 1000+ year continuous history is something Americans don't have. And I really found it impressive. Take pics and let us know how it goes.