A brush with the Queen and a speech from the Prime Minister

I can't believe the past two days I have had! Since I have arrived, my mom has been encouraging me to visit the House of Parliament.  It is because of her constant encouragement that I was able to have such a two days. When I was looking at Parliament's schedule I noticed that Wednesday was the State Opening.  I thought, 'well that's interesting I wonder what that means, seems important'. I did a little digging and found out that the Queen attends the opening! WELL THAT'S JUST AWESOME! I did a little more digging and found out about the Royal procession from Buckingham Palace to Parliament. So I gathered up the troops (aka my flatmates) and headed out early Wednesday morning to see the Queen! We were there about 2 hours early so we had front row seats. It was incredible to see all the preparation taking place for a 15 minute carriage ride. Down the entire road were the Queen's guards and more Policeman than I could count. The traffic lights were removed and snipers on the roof of the Palace (and several other buildings I am sure). The procession started with not one but two marching bands, along with a regiment of the Queen's Guards, an army regiment, and some other military group ( I am not sure exactly where they were from). Then came the carriages! The first carriage held the Queen's Coronation Crown and the second and third held the page boys and other dignitaries.  Finally the big, golden, Royal carriages were coming! The fits held Camilla and Prince Charles. Then came the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh! She was so beautiful and I was so CLOSE to her! I can't believe it! Unfortunately the public is not allowed to watch the Queen's opening speech but I was able to attend Parliament after she left.  I decided to visit the House of Commons.  I felt very official going through security and getting my very own visitors pass (picture and all). The first room (not sure if it can be classified simply as a room) looked almost exactly like the the Great Hall in Harry Potter and when I mean exactly, I mean I think it was filmed there exactly. The second room I was ushered into was filled with mosaics and golden chandeliers, the opulence you would expect in the Houses of Parliament. Finally I was brought into the Public Gallery for the House of Commons.  The public sits behind a large glass wall up above the Member's area. As I looked around the room my eyes stopped on one person...David Cameron.  'I can't believe it! The Prime Minister is literally feet away from me!' To add the already amazing day, the Prime Minister then proceeded to make a speech to the House! WHAT! I couldn't believe I was actually watching the Prime Minister speak! The Members of the House were feisty, humorous, and passionate.  It was very interesting to watch how they interact with one another. I stayed for about an hour and a half until the end of Cameron's speech, when most of the Members of Parliament left as well.

My flatmate Heather

The First Band

The Second Band

The Coronation Crown

Prince Charles and Camilla

The Queen's Carriage

Aren't they adorable!

Taking out the stop lights

Hopped up on my brush with the Queen and my experience in Parliament, I was eager to continue the experience. So Thursday morning, accompanied by my flatmate Heather and fellow APIer Stuart, I returned to Parliament.  This time I went to watch the House of Lords.  The difference between the two Houses is astounding! The House of Lords sits in this magnificent, golden room with stained glass windows, her Majesties Throne, and plush red benches.  The Members of the House of Lords average an age of about 75, I wasn't even sure some of them were still alive. The debate was very quiet with no much opposition. After visiting both houses I would say I prefer watching the House of Commons but I like the room of the House of Lords better. But either way, they were both fascinating to watch!
(Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside Parliament, but here are some photos I found on the Internet!)

The House of Lords

David Cameron during his speech

The House of Commons

The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, and Camilla at the Opening of Parliament

After these two glorious days, I am now hitting the books.  Not that I haven't been doing that all along, of course, but I have an exam on Monday that I am extremely nervous about! My Professor expects 10 memorized sources for each of our essay questions! How am I going to memorize ten sources and all the information!! AHHHHHH.  Well I guess I better get started! My motivation is that I am leaving for Italy and Greece the day after my exam! YAHOO.

Until then my friends!

Shakespeare and Royalty!

So I am not going to lie, for the past week and a half I have been doing an awful lot of nothing! When I got back from Ireland, I wanted to take a break and just chill out.  Well I must have frozen because I have seen very little other than my room and living room. However in the past two days I did go out on some adventures.  Last night my study abroad group and I went to see a play at the Globe! That's right, Shakespeare's Globe.  We stood in the yard, which was very exciting because the actors were weaving in and out around us, and the stage was within an arm's distance.  We saw the Tempest, which was one that I had never heard of.  I was told it was a drama but I thought it was hilarious! The actors were AMAZING! The most prominent was Roger Allam, known for being in Pirates of the Caribbean, The Iron Lady, V for Vendetta, and countless other big titles.  Allam played the role of Prospero (the protagonist).  The cast also included Colin Morgan, best known for being in the BBC TV series Merlin.  Morgan played Ariel (the spirit of the island). Despite several noisy helicopters and airplanes flying overhead, and the steady decrease in temperature, the entire cast stayed jovial and in character. I thought it was magnificent!

Today I embarked on an even greater adventure...I went to visit Windsor Castle! In no more than 20 minutes, I was transported from busy London, to Royal and adorable Windsor.  The castle sits on the top of the hill looming over the visitors below with majesty and timelessness.  Rachel and I went straight to the castle in the hopes of bypassing the crowds. The first thing that greets you as you enter the Castle grounds is this magnificent garden mote. I swear I will get married here.  The only thing I could compare it to is the Garden of Eden.  Although I have never seen the Garden of Eden, I could imagine it would look something like this. Wild flowers were growing all over the place, with tulips, and snow blossom trees.  A small stream ran through the middle, meeting a small pond further on.  It was GLORIOUS! After tearing ourselves away from the garden, we entered an exhibit showcasing Queen Mary's doll's and dollhouse.  I have to say that these dolls have far more expensive clothing than I do.  I believe there was a cheetah and bear coat in the collection... Anyway we then went on to the State rooms and I was in a State of AWE the entire time.  Despite having been remodeled in 1992 after a fire destroyed a large part of the castle, the architecture and interior design was incredible and looked completely authentic. One room after another left me speechless and even more determined to marry Prince Harry! After spending a good three hours in the castle, Rachel and I were famished and found an adorable little tea shop nearby.  We both filled ourselves with sandwiches and chips (a.k.a french fries). To conclude our lunch we made a quick trip over to Hardy's original sweetshop and let me just say, I was a kid in a candy store! Floor to ceiling shelves of candy. It was Ah-Ma-ZING! I settled on some honeycomb milk chocolate and a few candy gummies.  For the rest of the day we walked around Windsor and made our way over to Eton College.  It is very interesting to see high school age boys walking around in suits and tuxes. After sitting on the green enjoying a cup of iced coffee, we hopped on the train home.  All in all a FANTASTIC day.

P.S. forgot to mention that it was 70 degrees with not a cloud in the sky.  A great way to celebrate May 1st :)