Saint-Paul de Vence is an old village located in south eastern France, about 30 minutes drive from Nice.
I had never heard of this place prior to the visit, but our tour guide told us that it’s a wonderful place, that there’s a saying which if Jesus is to be born onto earth again, it will be at St Paul.
The statement might be over-exaggerating, but St Paul was a lovely place indeed. The fortified village structure was something that I had never seen before; and its environment, the narrow streets and stony buildings were simply mesmerising.
The only regret I had, was that we were not able to spend much time there to fully appreciate the place. Back then, I had vowed to visit the place again… I am not so sure about the feeling now, but at that moment, I think I was in love with St Paul de Vence.
Photo of Saint Paul de Vence
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Tower of London was already closing when I reached there (closes at 6pm, but last admission at 5pm). I was not disappointed though. I don’t know why but I am not fond of visiting the tower; some travel guides actually ranked Tower of London as the ‘must visit’ place ahead of Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge and Big Ben etc… but somehow I am just not interested.
A glimpse of the Tower of London
Note that the Tower of London is not really a tower; it’s more like a complex instead. It was first built as a fortress by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was named White Tower back then (some people still calling it this way).
The main attraction of the Tower of London is probably the Crown Jewels which have been kept in the tower since 1303; but the most interesting tale of the tower is perhaps the Tower Ravens…
According to legend, if the ravens left the tower, the White Tower would fall and a great disaster befall the Kingdom. Till these days, at least 6 ravens are kept within the tower compound at all time. [Reference]
Tower of London was also used at a prison for royals, nobles and religious dissidents in the past history. The tower is often referred as one of the most haunted places in London because of the large number of prisoners executed here.
