Parliament, Buckingham, and a Trip to "Avenue Q!"

So I've officially been in London for approximately two weeks (tomorrow will be exactly that much time since I landed) and it's wild, I feel similarly to my last post. I feel as though I've already accomplished so much here in such a short time span but at the same time don't feel like I've done a fraction of anything! It's incredible how many sites are so close by, it really makes you stop and reflect and realize how much back in the states, we take for granted some of the sites (for me, it's the fact that I live 2 hours from DC, and don't think it's that cool, even though it really is.)

Anyways, to fill you in on what I've been doing lately, let me start where I left off, last Friday, on the 12th, I woke up and headed for a guided tour of Parliament. As a nerd, let me tell you how cool that place really is. I'm jealous of some of my friends here that get to actually work IN Parliament, however, I'm not jealous of the politics they have to put up and such. ANYWAYS, I'd say almost every room in Parliament has a large portion of the room covered in Gold, authentic 24k gold everything, if you see anything gold-looking, it's real. That's crazy. But on a more intellectual note than that, it was a really great experience to just see the heart of a different type of government. Although democratic, there are some interesting differences in the layouts of Parliament that made me think of home.

For instance, the House of Commons, is actually a square room, divided by a table (**FUN FACT** the debate floor is approx. 2 and a half sword lengths apart, because back in the day, they figured they didn't want to get anyone stabbed in the middle of debate if it got heated, if someone did get a sword through security) whereas back in the states, every large state or federal legislative building has the room set up in a circular pattern, so politicians just yap away about who knows what, and it's not even directed at anyone. Anyways, that was just an observation. Also, our tour guide told us a funny story, because one of the large processional halls is lined with gigantic murals of the English conquering the French hundreds of years ago (battle of Waterloo etc), and they normally use that room for individuals who want to address Parliament, and they have to put up curtains every time the French come to speak with British politicians, so it's not demoralizing, but they occasionally forget to, lol, guess it sucks to be French? I don't know, but I found it quite humorous.

Alright, so moving on, I've been keeping quite busy. On Saturday afternoon I traveled with a few flat mates and friends to Buckingham Palace to view their special exclusive showing of the Queen's State Rooms. These are the prestigious rooms dedicated to VIP guests of the Queen when she invites them over to her crib. Basically, it was gorgeous, from Rembrandt paintings, to Napoleons very own coffee table (took 6 years to make it, it's called the table of commanders, and is made from porcelain, with great generals from the beginning of time on it), to every room having a color scheme. I've never heard of so many different names for rooms. Not to mention they had a special exhibit on the Grand Ball Room, where they set it up, as if the Queen was hosting a special State Dinner, these are lavish and incredible affairs only for obviously very impressive guests of the Queen, and the amount of detail in preparations for this affair are wild! They take a ruler and measure the distances of every fork (x2), spoon, knife (x2), bowls, plates, butter dishes, etc etc etc...basically, something I was never used to back home haha. Anyways, it was a wonderful time and not too pricy surprisingly enough for being a student.

Wrapping up the weekend, Sunday was dedicated to homework, preparing for my internship (which is still amazing, by the way, and I've had a great time!) and Monday of course was my flatmate, James' birthday! After we finished intenrships on Monday, we all met at the flat, ate, and then decided to head to a show on a whim! We saw the production "Avenue Q" which I had never seen live, and oh my goodness, what an awesome experience. We walked in (I was wearing the blue sweater mom) all dressed up, asked for "student concession" seating which basically means that for a flat student rate, the box office will offer you the best seats they have that night in the house...and it just so happened, that our group of 7 was split up into VIP box seats on the sides of the stage. Pretty much you felt like royalty, for a cheap price. If you haven't already guessed, I'm getting really good at finding random lucky things like that. (I ate at a place in China town when I went exploring one day called Mr. Wu's, which was an all-you-can-eat buffett for £4.95, and of course, Mr. Wu only excepts cash, cause he runs a shady establishment, but it was lunchtime, and of course I was looking for a lot of food, so I didn't mind.) Anyways, Avenue Q is a histerical comedy/satire based on poking fun at Seasame Street, where all the actors actually also do voices of muppet-like characters, play multiple characters, and are just absolutely phenomenal. I couldn't believe the amount of talent the 6 actors on stage had, it was a West End production (similar to Broadway-level) back home, and once again, I was blown away and laughing for 2.5 hours straight. A must-see I must say.

So today I have one more class in a few minutes, and will probably be grocery shopping, doing laundry, and of course probably popping into the British Museum for the second time in a week and a half. (I've seen the National Gallery and The British Museum on afternoons when I was going from place to place only partially), so I might go revisit the Rosetta Stone, see a work by Da Vinci, or you know, do homework...but either way, I'll find something to pass the time. Regardless, I wish I could come up with something more incredible to talk about, but as you can already tell, my rambles explain quite a lot. On that note, any donations, contributions, or advice you would like to send to the Josh Tate Study Abroad Foundation, please email me, facebook me, or comment on this post. We're a non-profit, and always open for business, kinda like 7-11.

Oh yeah, and just to let everyone know. This weekend I randomly booked a 3-day excursion to Edinborough, Scotland (you know loch ness, and all that fun...don't worry I'll find bagpipers and kilts), and I'm heading to paris this weekend with a few friends, 3-days of site seeing, traveling and picture taking. We had an internet crisis in the flats last weekend, but all has been fixed, so I'll try to put up those pics tonight sometime and give you all my artsy shots that I've been taking around the city, as I try to become a metropolitan artisan. Miss you all and please keep the good news coming from the states! Tally-ho! And...as the Brits say...Cheers!