so as I said in my previous blog, I have had a week of doing the things that I wanted to do. After my birthday celebrations the next thing on my agenda was so have a tour of the houses of parliament. This took a while to organise but I have to admit that it was better that I thought it would be! The first part of the day was me going through security checks. It is a government building and an extremely important one at that so I wouldn’t expect any less. Once all the security checks had been completed, we were taken underground through a tunnel into the main building that we all love and know very well. We were given warnings that there were many steps to walk up and that from previous experiences, not everyone makes it to the top. This was fine as I am use to walking everywhere and I have walked up more stairs that this from other random adventures that I have taken myself on. What was amazing is that when you looked up the centre of the staircase you could see all the way to the top of the clock tower. It was a very long way up! We aren’t allowed to take photos inside which is a huge shame because the photo opportunities were endless. These pictures however will have to remain in my memory and I am sure they will be there for a long time to come.
Nearly all the way up to the top and you get to visit a room that has all the gears in it. It is fascinating to realise that this clock is over 150 years old now and that these gears have been moving around for most of that time (apart from the times that things have gone slightly wrong with some of the gears shattering across the room into the walls but this was a long time ago!) We heard the gears move and wind as it was time for the quarter of an hour chime. I was really surprised how loud they are and also how many things move at the same time. It sounded as if a gun was going off repeatedly so you did not know where to turn or where to look. We were given a history of the tower and told some very interesting facts too such as the pendulum has coins on it so make sure it keeps the clock at the correct speed. After these facts it was time to go up all the way to the top. once you get outside the first thing you see is the huge bell. I am not to sure what I was expecting really. Part of it was better than I expected but I imagined the Bell to be taller for some reason. Ignoring my previous comment, the bell was big! I am sure they could turn it upside down and use it as a 6-8 person jacuzzi! We were told to put ear plugs in as it was coming up to three o’clock and that meant one and only thing.
To be standing next to something that is making the noise that is so familiar all over the world made me shiver. When the other bells had finished ringing and Big ben was chiming it made me feel so proud. The lady that was standing next to me said that she felt really emotional. I understand where she was coming from because it is such a huge symbol of London and we could basically feel the vibrations shaking through us. After we had a look at the spectacular views (and they were fantastic! its an angle of London that you do not usually get to see) we made our way all the way down and back into the houses of parliament. We were asked if we would like to have a sit in at the house of commons and listen to a debate and we all jumped at the chance. Apart from getting lost and seeing so much of the breathtaking interior, we finally made it to the debate. I was gobsmacked that I was sitting in a chamber that I have seen on TV so many times. The chamber its self is smaller than I imagined but it was more beautiful. The details everywhere were stunning and the famous green chairs just finished off the experience by knowing who has sat on them and how close we were to them.
After this we had a brief stop at the House of lords. This chamber again was spectacular but in reds. Most people would say that this is the more beautiful of the two but I think that the fame and publicity of the house of commons just makes it all that better. After this it was time to sadly leave parliament as I had other plans for that day. I managed to walk around Waterloo, the London eye, Bankside and down to St. Pauls Cathedral. As you can tell by the photos, it was the perfect end to another perfect day.
I hope you enjoy the photos, I most certainly enjoyed taking them
Signing out, Thatmfeeling
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