CHAPTER 6
It really is impressive how much there is to see and do in London. I have been there half a dozen times, and still feel like I have only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. On this trip, we attempted a full week of solid sightseeing, and I think we were able to tick off most of the most prominent attractions, but the truth of it is, you could probably live there for a year and still not see it all. Just ask Jake and Jackie, they lived there for three years, and nevertheless left with a long list of “when we come backs”.
This day out in the city found us waiting in line at Westminster Palace for the Parliament Tour. This little dip into the inner workings of the British government was bewildering to say the least. Imagine this antiquated political arrangement, steeped in tradition and protocol, with one whole house being made up of officials appointed by the monarchy, rather than elected, including almost a hundred of which gained their seat by heredity, and another block who are there because they are the head bishops of the church of England… I mean come on, what century are we living in here??
Well, don’t take that the wrong way, I am rather partial to the idea of kings and queens and royalty, but I had been under the distinct impression that the Queen of England had been reduced in actual power to not much more than a rubber stamp, and that they were just keeping her around for PR purposes. Happily, it turns out that this doesn’t seem to be the case.
Speaking of the Queen, our next stop on our little “government of Brittan tour” was Buckingham Palace, where the wedding dress of the recently married Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was on special display. Sadly, like with so many of the principle attractions in London, no photos were allowed inside the halls of Buckingham, or Parliament for that matter.
The British Museum on the other hand, not only lets you take pictures, but it is chock full with some of the most amazing artifacts in history- the highlight being the Rosetta Stone: the massive granodiorite slab with the same long text written out in three different languages- Hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek, which acted as, well, a rosetta stone in deciphering the ancient Egyptian texts. It is one of those things that everyone has heard of, and is vaguely familiar with, but which can’t truly be appreciated until seen in person.
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