Westminster

Today I went on a tour of Westminster, London. The area is divided by the Thames river, but most of it is on the North Side of the river. I saw Big Ben, Parliment, Parliment square, some statues, the Thames, St. Thomas Hospital (where Florence Nightingale worked) and Westminster Bridge. The tour guide was very informative. I enjoyed the tour very much. I love how in London there is so much old architecture, it's beautiful! And fun fact! Today I learned that although the houses of Parliament look very old and are of the gothic design, they are actually only 150ish years old as they were rebuilt after the great fire.





Here are some photos of Big Ben from various angles. Today I learned that Big Ben is not actually the name of the clock, but the name of the bell inside, which was cast the same place as our Liberty Bell. Also, the clock must be wound by hand 3 times a week.




This green circle marks the spot where the first ever stoplights in the entire world were located. The first stoplights were in Parliament square!

The houses of Parliament consist of the Commons, (162 people) and the Lords, which is around 200. The Commons are elected and the Lords are selected by the monarchy. The Lord title used to be passed from father to son but is now a position that is held by people of power or importance. The monarchy tries to make sure that these Lords/people represent a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. The Lords follow the Queen while the Commons act very independent of her.


So independent in fact, that when the Queen comes in November every year for the ritual of opening session, the house of Commons does not attend the ceremony until the Queen sends someone with a black stick to knock three times on the House of Commons' door to request their attendence. The House of Commons first slams their door in the man's face, but then eventually attends. The point is to show how they are fiercely independent from the Queen. It is mostly a tradition.

This is a picture of the house of Commons. There are not enough seats inside of the House of Commons to fit all 629 members. If they all were to show up to vote for a particularly important bill, then some would have to sit on the floor!







This is the House of Lords. The Queen only visits this side. Ever since King Charles the First way back when went into the House of Commons (and started a war) no ruler has entered the House of Commons. (It sort of reminds me of our separation of church and state -- having a separation between the monarchy and the democratically elected representatives is very important to the British.)

Here is a picture of Westminster Abbey. We actually saw the Westminster choir boys leave their building about a block away and walk to Westminster to practice. They were all wearing white shirts with red ties. Apparently you can enter the choir at age 11, but you must be very dedicated to music because instead of opening presents on Christmas morning you must sing!

Mid 18th centuray buildings. Kathleen Kennedy, the sister of John F. Kennedy, lived in this neighborhood and spent her last night alive in a building nearby. A tip to date these buildings is by looking at the windows. Windows that are not set back but are instead flesh with the brick are normally older. After the great fire some basic firecodes were created. These suggested that windows be set back from the buildings so that the smoke could not escape and spread as quickly.

Jill and I