Aunt Linda gave the day this fitting title, but 1,000 is actually a few less than were required to tackle the Tower of London. This fortress/castle/palace has been around since Roman times. It is popular because of its association with the bloodthirsty Henry VIII, who had two of his wives and his chancellor Thomas More beheaded there. It is also the place where Richard III, legend has it, had his young nephews smothered in order to seize the throne for himself--a charge which was just a suspicion until William Shakespeare happily cooperated with his Tudor backers to make it a fact. Finally, it is the home of the crown jewels of England. They are not fake, and they are not insured. Yet you can simply walk into a heavily armored vault, look through a sheet of glass, and there they are: millions of dollars worth of diamonds, emeralds and rubies. (Unfortunately, you can't photograph them.) The girls liked it because it is the home of enormous black ravens, which are fed and cared for on the grounds. And that's just the beginning.We ran so hard to try to cover this place today that Meredith quite literally fell asleep crouching on her heels balanced in the middle of the floor during one short guided tour. Meredith gave us further room to laugh at the end of the day when she insisted on buying a stuffed version of one of the ravens as a souvenir so that she could remember one of England's top tourist attractions. It was not until we got home and read the label, "Made in Ohio."
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