Parliament Buildings, London
May 1, 2015 by admin
Filed under Travel for everyone
Whether seen from a distance…
or seen from up high (as in from the London Eye)…
the Palace of Westminster is impressive.
Yes, the Palace of Westminster is where the British Parliament sits.
It is where Big Ben (the bells) chimes the Westminster chime for the clock on the Elizabeth Tower.
I am sure you have heard the chime melody many times but may not have realized this is the origin of it. There are some really good You Tube presentations about Big Ben. Check them out.
The Palace of Westminster is a huge building on the banks of the River Thames
The stone walls reflect light in such a way that the building never seems to be the same colour.
It is particularly impressive when lit up at night (as seen here from a River Thames cruise)
Taking a tour of the Parliament Buildings had never been high on my list of priorities, but this time we decided to take a tour…and we were thoroughly impressed.
The guides were fantastic. The building is impressive….
there is so much history here!
Tickets must be purchased in advance (we got ours through Ticket Master) and picked up just outside the buildings…you will get instructions with your ticket purchase. Your ticket will have a time stamped on it so you know which tour you will be on.
Security is an issue anywhere in the world nowadays so you will go through an airport type security system and be issued a visitor pass. The day we went there were very few people in the security line…but I have read that the wait time to get through security can be quite lengthy.
The official website www.parliament.uk has excellent information about taking a tour (and we strongly recommend doing so!).
At the end of the tour we stopped in the parliamentary cafeteria and had the best tasting scones with clotted cream and jam. Many places in London serve this tea time snack but these scones tasted like they were “supposed to” taste…the way I remember scones from my first trip to England so many years ago.
History and scones with clotted cream.
What more could a person ask for!
Continue the visit to London by clicking here.
