It Pays to Have Family in High Places

The highlight of our day today was a tour of the Houses of Parliament. As it turns out, Bob has family over here, including a second cousin twice removed (or so) who works at the Parliament buildings. Today we found out he's actually an elected official, although that's not how he came to work at Parliament (he's a staff member for a Member of Parliament). He met us at the Sovereign's entrance, which is the entrance used by the Queen when she comes to give her annual speech to Parliament. What an incredible opportunity. Apparently not anyone can get in, and we felt like we got all kinds of interesting (occasionally irreverent) information. Pete is a natural tour guide, and was very entertaining. We got great stories, including the one about how curtains were installed in the upper galleries of the House of Lords after it was discovered that the Lords could see right up the skirts of the wives and daughters seated in those galleries. We weren't allowed to take photographs, but we thoroughly enjoyed the complete immersion in British history--Pete really knows his stuff, and it was fascinating.

Before meeting Pete, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which was spectacularly beautiful. (I'll be posting some photos tomorrow, including editing some prior posts--I've not had proper internet access on my laptop for downloading my photos.) We all climbed the 239 steps to the Whispering Gallery, where you can whisper against the wall, and someone can hear you clear across the dome. JoDee and I kept going to the top: another 200+ steps, where we could see some great views from the balcony outside.

We went to Westminster Abbey, but the line was incredibly long, and it was £20 each to get in. However, if you go 'round the back, and tell the guy at the gate that you want to see the Tomb of the Unknown (British) Soldier, he'd let you in. So, we did so, and got a quick look at part of the Abbey. The picture above is the Abbey.

We were to have gone to the British Museum after lunch, but decided to do the Tower of London instead. We're all agreed that it didn't get the attention it deserved, because we were tired, but it was pretty cool, if rather Disney-like and commercialized. Ask me later about how we nearly embarrassed ourselves right out of London with a small misunderstanding regarding our Heritage Passes (passes we bought that allow us into landmarks and museums).

After the Tower, we took the Tube (really! Bob let us!) back to our hotel, and then caught the train to Nottingham, just in time to watch the England/Sweden World Cup game (too bad--a draw). We will undoubtedly spend tomorrow lying around recovering from our hectic tourist schedule--JoDee is a harsh taskmaster of a tour guide! :)