Along the Thames to Big Ben

We arrived uneventfully in London, no Tamil demonstrations this time, had another talkative cab driver giving us information about various things, checked in at our hotel and decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and walk along the river embankment to see Big Ben. This was another of the things that Anna was interested in so we knew we had to get lots of pictures.

After a (very) quick 25 minute walk we arrived at Big Ben and the Parliament buildings. We had to jostle a little for picture-taking positions since a large portion of the London population (or maybe just all tourists) were also enjoying the lovely day. We got some great shots with the sun glinting off the tower. I was interested with the Parliament Buildings to also note how large and elaborate the Sovereign’s entrance was. I was also reminded of the turbulent history of Britain when we walked by the barriers protecting the Houses of Parliament from any potential car bombers. England on the whole is very security conscious, I first realized this when we were at Euston train station waiting to go to Glasgow and I couldn’t find a garbage can anywhere. This is common tradition, they have people continuously wandering through the station to pick up trash, there aren’t even garbage cans in the washrooms - it’s a very different feeling.

Anyway, back to Big Ben. Dennis also wanted to try and record the sound of the clock chiming the hour so we nipped through the park behind the Houses of Parliament. Unfortunately there wasn’t full access all the way around so he wasn’t close enough to get a good recording but I did get a nice picture of the statue of Emmeline Pankhurst in the park.