Monday we were lucky enough to get a tour of Parliament. What an amazing building! It was really interesting to visit the places you see on the news and have the systems of government explained. In fact I have the news on right now and they are standing where we were just a few days ago!
The architecture, paintings and statues were really impressive in person. The age of the place is really hard to grasp at times. I only have photos of the entrance hall area because photos are not allowed in the rest of the House of Commons. The entrance hall is impressive enough on its own, but when you consider the dignitaries, celebrities, and well known people from history that have dined or been tried and beheaded, the numerous royals and Prime Ministers that were laid in state there makes it all the more impressive. If walls could talk.....
We literally walked all over London on Monday and took the Tube about 50 times. I have to say, the tube is an amazingly confusing thing. I was really, really glad that I had natives with me that I just follow like a lemming. It was really cold and rained and snowed most of the day, but London was really pretty in the snow. I was grateful for my waterproof, fleece lined boots! I could not believe how many women I saw in nothing but nylons or tights and high heels. They looked perfectly miserable.
We walked along the river, visted the Globe, where the Shakesperean plays were held when they were brand spanking new, crossed the Millenium bridge, viewed St. Paul's Cathedral, then headed over to Liberty of London.
I swear I heard the host of angels sing as we rounded to corner and first glimpsed the Tudor styled building. I was really glad it was sale time, because even the sale prices were rather expensive. Shopping with Anne, Matt and their boys is really nice. They would find good deals for me, ask for things I wasn't finding and would actually carry my bags. I kept trying to carry them myself, but they would have none of it!
We stopped at Harrod's briefly, but we were all so tired by then, our hearts weren't really in it. I got some nice chocolate covered orange and lemon peels and a bag of loose tea. I slept most of the ride home.
Once again I'm having the photo issue w/the iPad, so the order of the photos is:
Pigeon on the Tube sign
House of Parliament
Inside the House of Parliament
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
Bag Piper showing how hardy he is wearing a kilt on the bridge in the snow
The Globe
The Tower Bridge in the snow
St. Paul's Cathedral
The fanciest water fountain I've ever seen
Liberty of London
A real magic shop we happened across
1 comment:
Love the shot of Tower Bridge in the snow.
The tube isn't that hard once you get a good map. I have an app on my phone that will tell you which lines to take and where to change to get to your destination. It even alerts you when one of the lines is down or there are delays.
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