October 9 - Westminster Palace (Parliament)

While noodling arounf the Internet last night I found out that guided tours of Westminster Palace were only available today or tomorrow.  After that Parliament is in session and I assume the guides are busy guidung MPs.  So I booked a tour for this afternoon.

Instead of walking to my usual Tube Station I went to St. Pancras / King's Cross. Huge Tube / bus / rail station, including the Eurostar.  Instead of paying for each ride a biught a refillable pass card (Oyster card), good for multiple rides.  When it runs oit, they don't let you out of the station until you add cash to the card (hmm?).  I jumped onto the tube, made a mistake in train selection, but lucked out because their are mulriple routes to the same destination.  I went to Waterloo station, another huge hub.  It took a latte and 15 minutes just to get out of the station. 

First view from the bridge.

My disclaimer:  I didn't take notes during the tour, so everything I say needs to be fact checked.  I'll issue updates as required, or after I read the guide book I bought.

You enter and wait in Westminster Hall, the largest room in the building.  This now used as a hall for large events.  Important guests (eg, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama) spoke to  crowds of up to 2000 in here.

Plaques on the floor mark important events, such as Monarchs lying in state.

One example:  The top plaque  commeorates the lying in state of Winston Churchill (1965) and the bottom tells about how Sir Thomas Moore was condemned to death by Parliament here in 1535.

St. Stephen's Hall: 

Unfortunately, once the tour leaves this room photos are not allowed. 

The magnificence and history of these buildings is overwhelming.

We had a great tour guide, who had various tidbits and stories.  The buldings have been burned down, bombed, rebuilt and expanded many times. 

One recurring theme is that parliament was always running out of money as it was doing these projects.  They couldn't finish this room or that room until some benefactoe appeared and donated funds.  Seems weird, but we heard of many examples.

Here's one example (for you, Deb):

The 8 sided Central Lobby was supposed to have paintinings on the upper walls.  But they were running out of money and found that it was cheaper to do mosaics instead.

Go figure -paintings are more expensive than mosaics??

PS - I photographed that picture out of the guide book.

Last photo, also taken out of the guide.

The plan of the buiding.  Westminster Hall is the big room lower left. Central Lobby is above it. The green rooms to the left are for the MPs and the red rooms are for the Lords.  The Robing Room on the right is where the Monarch puts on the ceremonial robes before major speeches.

When you enter the House of Commons or the House of Lords Chambers, you are surprised by how small they seem.  You can't fit all 650 MPs into the HoC Chamber.  Otherwise, an amazing building

Last photo, taken as I left the buidling:  Big Ben in the brilliant sun.

It's been mostly cloudy with sunny periods since I arrived.  One tiny 'spitty' shower.  

I'll end with a money saving tip:  my flat came without a soap dish.  Laura had given me one, but I removed it before I left (sorry, dear).

While shopping today I bought a smal pack of sliced ham in a clear plastic dish.  So, I get a lunch and a soap dish for 1.7 Pounds!