Being in England for so long, it only seems proper to take advantage of the late summer opportunities to see the inner workings or the country. For August and September, both Parliament and Buckingham Palace are open to visitors.
Saturday was my tour of Parliament. It was full of deep history... and it was so cool to hear the details of how English lawmaking occurs. Its not entirely dissimilar from the US, but there are some very special traditional ceremonies that mark the start of the season and session. Acts of the Queen, special gavels and other instruments, and how they vote. And each story of what occurred on those premises, such as the hanging of William Wallace (Braveheart). Fascinating.
One of the most memorable parts of this day however, was at the end, where there was a special exposition around the abolishment of the English slave trade. The actual document William Wilberforce submitted to Parliament was there in a casing. The stories, the pictures, were all very moving. And the fact that slavery still exists in many areas of the world today, is terrifying. I have a friend working in Thailand helping to rehabilitate woman escaping sexual slavery through jewelry making. Her ministry blows my mind. www.wonderfullymadejewelry.com
So Sunday, Dominika and I set up to visit Buckingham Palace. There are actually many components of the palace... the horse stables, The Queen's Gallery, and then the Palace itself. It was all breathtaking... and again astounding to think of all the important people who've walked those halls. I wish we could have taken pictures, but they weren't allowed. None the less, we breathed in every bit and tried to take mental pictures. I remember most ALL the different china sets! Very cool.
After leaving the palace, we strolled out through the grounds and just sat to chat for a bit. We met these lovely two older women who we ended up talking to for about a half an hour. For whatever reason, I've spent the majority of my time with my American team. It was a treat to chat with these English women and hear all about their lives and travels as they asked us about theres.
It was a more low key weekend than some of my others, but a great one it was.
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