London, England - Tower of London, St. John's Chapel - August 2024

Along with the Tower Ravens, the other thing I wanted most to see at the Tower of London was St. John's Chapel, in the White Tower. It was originally built as a place of worship for William the Conqueror, but he passed away just before it was completed. In addition to being a chapel, it also stored royal and state documents at several points since its creation.

It is considered to be a perfect specimen of early Anglo-Norman royal ecclesiastical architecture, somewhat Romanesque in nature. I really love old churches, so below you'll be able to see my draw to it. It was somehow heavy and light at the same time. Most people just sort of filed through, as I think poor A sort of wanted to do, but I just stopped and took a billion photos. I also have debated maybe using one of these for the Iowa State Fair Photo Salon, but not sure if any would work or which. I'll think on it.

I'm not sure which of these three photos (this and the next two) looks best. I can make arguments for each.

Similarly, I can make an argument for it in color and in black & white.

This is the horror that happened to that same view if you use an iPhone to capture it. It overexposes it and makes it flat.

This hallway just beyond the chapel also had some great lines.

We were at the Tower for probably four hours, and we didn't see everything. We should have made a beeline straight for the Crown Jewels - instead, by the time we got there, the line was about an hour deep, so we skipped it. My big pieces of advice for visiting are:

• Book the very first spot of the day.

• Head straight for the Crown Jewels.

• If you have mobility issues, you may not be able to see everything, because the Tower is so old. Just keep that in mind when visiting.

• Similarly, make sure to wear your walking shoes because it is big.

• Four hours is about the minimum, even zooming through some of the armoury and skipping the Crown Jewels.

• Definitely get the audio guide at the very least, located just inside the entrance. It's also likely smart to get a tour from a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater), or perhaps pay for a guided one, if you are really into the history.