[Belated] DPP Day 11: Elephant in Castle

On my first ever visit to London, I was pretty flexible about the places I wanted to see. My parents and I had six full days in the city, and my top three goals for the trip were to have a British cream tea, to see a West End show (one of three: Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, or the then-running The Woman in White, this latter now mostly forgotten in the wake of a short run and some pretty scathing reviews), and to visit the Tower of London. (Because my parents are awesome, we not only did all three things, but went to see all three of the shows specified, and also visited Oxford for a day, during which excursion I caught my first glimpse of the Bodleian Library). These were valuable and unforgettable experiences, still remembered and loved long after that original trip, and ones which I try to recreate (except the tea, which was ridiculously expensive) for the friends and family members I have since had the opportunity to show around London.

Despite its slightly steep admission fees, the Tower of London is an excursion near and dear to my heart, and I might actually be convinced to go on every trip to London were it not that I usually have pressing other things to do, such as reading and analysing rare manuscripts. So despite the fact that I've visited London more times than I can easily count on one hand, this was only the third time that I've been inside its magnificent gates. It is still magical. More to the point, on each successive visit I've been amazed by just how much there is to see in the Tower itself; I find myself feeling that there will never be enough time to see all the treasures it contains. On this particular visit, I entered the Beauchamp Tower (with amazing carved "graffiti" from past prisoners) for the first time, had a chance to see the top-floor armoury dragon in the White Tower, and, coming down the hill, caught a glimpse of this awesome elephant statue near one of the exits (which I have somehow, despite my love for elephants, missed on the past two trips).

Many other delights, familiar and new, were also to be had, but this little statue captured my heart and provided a nice respite from photos of walls and arms, which make up most of the rest of my Tower photo collection.