Westminster Abbey & BBC Studios

I began my day in the same place as yesterday. Well almost the same place because Westminster Abbey is very close to Parliament. Unfortunately, we had the same guide for Westminster Abbey as we did for the British Museum and he was again dreadfully boring. However, I was very impressed with Westminster Abbey. The architecture was similar to Notre Dame Cathedral but much nicer. The ceilings, stain glass, tombs, statues, and overall look of the church is incredibly beautiful. I would say the beauty is comparable to St. Peter's just less overdone.

It did make me sad when we got to Innocence Corner where the young king was killed by his uncle who wanted to be king. We also saw Queen Elizabeth I's, Geoffrey Chaucer, an acknowledgement to Shakespeare and Dickens, and a burial for Isaac Newton and many other kings and queens of the past. They had a poets, statesmen, writers, scientists, and musicians' corners which I thought was really cool. I think we are going to try and go back on Saturday to hear "Evensong" which is one of the best men/boys choir in the country.

I wasn't very excited about touring BBC studios at first but I actually really enjoyed it. They showed us a studio, conference room in the newsroom, dressing room where U2, Coldplay and tons of other bands have been. We also saw the entrance where all the stars arrive and check in for hair and makeup. For the final part they took us to an interactive studio! One of our students got to be a news anchor and two participated in the fake game show. It was really neat to see and be a part of and honestly made me more interested in that side of things. They also showed us how the weather people use blue/green screens and were able to participate in that as well.

Today was really good because I really enjoyed the places we went and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Parliament, European Union, Hampton Court Palace

The trip to Parliament was quite interesting because they have recently been criticized for unnecessary spending and have had picketers standing outside their building since we've been in London. Apparently they have always had allowances but now the way the spend that allowance is open to the public through the Internet.

The lecturer was extremely conservative which made me giggle a little because I know Andy would've loved him. He gave an interesting lecture on how they do things and how it's different than the U.S.. Apparently they are only allowed to spend 10,000 pounds per person for elections and campaigns are run much differently. They are not allowed to run attack ads, must only talk about their own policies, and utilize posters and meeting people door to door and a few church rallies than other means to advertise. For the entire party there is only a 20 million pound budget so there is a huge difference between us and them.

After that we went to AIFS to hear a lecture on the European Union which was also surprisingly interesting. A young professor in his thirties usually teaches a 2 semester class on the subject but he broke it down for us in an hour. He talked about why, who, how, when, and which countries currently belong to it now and which ones are still trying to become members. Basically in 1992 they opened the borders in 27 countries so people can work and live freely between each country in the union. The also united to have a little more world power instead of being tiny countries trying to stand up against world superpowers.

Hampton Court Palace was honestly a little disappointing compared to what I was anticipating. It was significantly different than the other palaces we visited. The best part was reading the stories about Henry VIII's poor wives.



Here are some pictures:















A sweet maze in the gardens....






Courtyard





The walls and ceiling above the grand staircase.





Solid gold kitchen supplies...




Today I was really homesick just because I know it's the beginning of the third week and I'm just so ready to see Andy and go home.