Day 6: Parliament and Westminster Abbey

Today we toured the Houses of Parliament. It is an extremely large building. One of the first rooms we entered was the queens dressing room. It is where she gets dressed to open parliament in the begining of May. We then went into the House of Lords, which is one of the law making bodies of their legeslative branch. Lords are either heirs or they are appointed. Their camber is mostly red with the exception of the queens thrown which is gold. The queens thrown is where she gives her address to congress .We then walked across the building to the House of Commons, which is the other law making body. Their primary color was green. The building is extremely old but has twice been rebuilt. First after the Great Fire in the 1800s they rebuilt all of parliment and added the House of Commons. Then the House of Commons was destroyed in the late 1940s because of the blitzkrieg bombings. After the war it was rebuilt. One thing I found interesting was that neither on the houses had desks for their congress to work on. The reason for that is they believe that their congress should be able to defend their point without looking at information in front of them. They did just decide to let iPads and other tablets, which according to our tour guide caused a small fight, but in the end they allowed their members to use them. Another difference was that they have an adversarial system. Basically they sit across from each other to argue their point, in America we sit in a semi-circle so our congress does not face each other. Their systems similar to ours, in the fact that both houses vote to pass the bill and the queen signs it into law. 

After we finished up at congress I went with the education group to go see the Westminster Abby. It was a very interesting place. It is a church where a lot of kings and queens are buried. The architecture is amazing and the tombs were also well designed. After that Dana and I walked to Buckingham palace and she took some pictures, and I stopped at a book store and picked up the first Harry Potter book.

The reason is because it is called Harry Potter and the philosophers stone. After that we went to Camden street which is just a bunch of little markets. Honestly it was also the most creepy part of London I have been in. But they have a lot of cheap items and I may go by one more time to look around at the deals. Tomorrow we go to the Roman baths and I should get to see Stonehenge. Sorry their is not to many pictures, most of the places did not allow photos.

Day 5: Oxford university, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Warwick castle

Today was filled with traveling. We left the hotel at 8 and headed to Oxford. Oxford was really interesting, and is an extremely old college. Our tour guide took us all over the university but we had to be quiet because the students were taking there exams. He showed us areas that were filmed in Harry Potter and where they got the idea for the great hall. We also saw images from C.S. Lewis's Lion, Which, and the Wardrobe. Such as the lamp post and Mr. Thomas. A lot of Oxford revolved around the story of Alice and Wonderland. Throughout the town and the university were things that Alice actually saw. This inspired the book by Lewis Carol.

After that we saw Shakespeare's birthplace in Strafford-Upon-Avon. I did not get and pictures but I did get some good fish and chips. We then left and headed for Warwick castle which was a lot of fun. It was kind of like a medieval times in an actual castle. We first went down into the dungeons. It was really dark and you could still see the scratch marks on the walls. They also had some of the devices they used to detain criminals. Danny, Steph, Dana, and I went and climbed the castle walls. It was really cool but I'm not a big fan if being that high up. Once we got down we saw some of the birds they used for bird shows.

When we got back to the hotel we decided to go to the London Eye below are some if the pictures I took. 

We finished there and got some food at a Mediterranean restaurant; it was really good. Tomorrow we go to parliament which should be pretty good!!!!!!

Shirt I bought at Oxford!!!

Day 4: Metropolitan Police and Scotland Yard

Today was one of the best days that we have had so far. It starred earlier than usual. We left the hotel at 8 to meet constable Richard and constable Phil. They took us to Downing Street which is closed of to the public, becasue it is where the British Prime Minister lives. Constable Richard was able to get us in to see the house of Prime Minister David Cameron. We had the chance to take some pictures and then went to see Buckingham Palace.

We first walked past Buckingham Palace and walked down a street to one of their police stations. There we were able to get a drink of water and orange sqaush. Note to self orange sqaush is nothing like orange juice. It tasted more like tang. Remeber the juice with a monkey on it. Yeah me neither. At the Police station Consatble Richard and Phil gave us a surprise. They were taking us to Buckingham Palace, and we were going to be able to enter the gates and watch the changing of the guards from the palace steps. It was a blast, but the changing to the guards took about an hour and my feet hurt a little from standing so long without moving.

 

After that was finished, we went and grabbed some lunch. I got a bacon cheeseburger which was very different. The bacon was more like a large slice of Canadian bacon and the burger itself did not taste like the burger I am accustomed to. After that we went into Scotland Yard where we listened to a presentation given to us by constable Richard and two other constables. They talked with us about London, policing the London marathon, especially after the Boston marathon the week before. He discussed how they had to adjust everything just five days before the race. They also talked about the security for the Olympics, and finished with some U.K. vs. U.S. humor.

After that was finished we headed back to the hotel and went to a Ethiopian food. It was pretty good. I had some chicken and rice and it was delicious. Tomorrow should be another good day. We travel with the education group to Warwick castle and Stratford-upon-Avon. 

Day 3: Supreme Court

Day 3: Supreme Court 

This morning we left the hotel at 9 to head to the Supreme Court. When we got out of the tube we actually had a chance to take pictures of parliament.

The Supreme Court was only a short walk from parliament. The Supreme Court is fairly new in the U.K. It was created in 2005 and began hearing cases in 2009. It was created to separate powers of the legislative, executive, and judicial branch like we have in America. There Supreme Court is unlike ours in the U.S. We were able to sit on the bench and take pictures  of everything in the court room, this is unlike the U.S. in the fact that they did not let us take photos or go any further than the public gallery. There Supreme Court consists of three court rooms while ours only has one. The first two courts we saw sat five justices and the third court sat  nine. I did not go into the nine justice court because it was in session and there was only a certain amount of seats left. So I watched the case from a tv right outside of the court room. After that Danny and I walked around Westminster Abby. We did not go in because we decided we would wait till the education group goes on Saturday.

We decided to come back to the hotel and get some sandwiches. We got the from a shop that was pretty cheap. It cost me 3 pounds for two sandwiches and a large water. 

After Dana returned her and I went  to the British museum and looked around for about an hour we then came back to the hotel and got ready to go to Wicked. We left and headed for dinner. I forgot the name of the restaurant but it was some if the best pasta I think I have ever had at a restaurant. We headed to the theatre and spend the next three hours watching one of the best musicals I have ever seen!!!!!! We got back late which is why my post is late. Tomorrow  evening I will share with you my experiences at Scotland Yard. 

The United Kingdom Supreme Court symbol

Day 2: magistrate court

Today has been interesting this morning at 9 we got our first experience with the tube (subway). It was way better than any other experience I have had on a subway. Not as crowded and way easier to understand. After a short ride in the tube we arrived at the Magistrates court.

The court we entered serves the Westminster section of London. I got the chance to observe three different cases. One of the first things I notice was that the defendants do not sit with their attorneys. Two of the cases the defendant appeared over a closed circuit camera. The first one plead guilty to anti-social behavior which is better known as begging on the street. He was immediately given his charge of 14 days I'm prison because he was a repeat offender. The second guy also plead guilty of drinking wine from a bottle he did not buy. He went into the store and drank from a bottle and then put it back in the shelf. He was only charged with one day in jail and had to pay 5 pound compensation to the store. The last man was charged with assault. He moved to dismiss his charges because he had no prior history, and was an outstanding citizen in the community. They will have a second hearing in June 4th to decide what to do with him. One other thing I noticed is we went into a lay magistrate court; which means that there are three magistrates but they are volunteers. They only have to go through a short training and then they serve for a certain amount of time. Our guide said it is similar to our jury duty. The judges are given legal advise from a law Proffessional and he or she helps the magistrates run the court. 

We finished with the courts around noon and came back to the hotel to get some lunch. Than while we we waited for the education group Danny and I went to find phones. Here is the one I got. 

It cost 20 pounds and gives me 100 mins and 100 text to phones in the UK. It is as basic as it gets. Since the education department did not get back till 530 Danny and I went to the Brutish museum and was there for about an hour but we will definitely have to go back. There is so much to see that you could probably spend days in there. I did get a chance to take to take a couple pictures. 

This is the Rosetta Stone. 

This is me with a statue from Easter island.

When the education group finally got back we got some dinner at the London pub, which is right next to our hotel. Dana and I split some fish and chips, and it was delicious. I have not really had anything to drink but I did try Guinness and it was not bad. Well time to turn in for the night. Tomorrow we see the Supreme Court. 

Day 1: The Arrival

It's  been a very long day here in London!!! For the most part I have only had one hour of sleep and we started touring right when we landed in London. Flights went well accept for the end of the flight from Rapid City to Chicago. We hit a lot if turbulence and it made me incredibly light headed.  When we left Chicago it was smooth sailing. We landed in London about 7:40 and got through customs and grabbed our bags all in about 50 minutes, it was really quick!!!!! We got on our bus and made our way to Windsor Castle. Before we entered the castle they did the changing guard which was really interesting. They came in kind of like a marching band. Drums, flutes, and trumpets. Then right after the band came the royal guards who were armed with firearms, and changed places with the guards at the front of the castle. When we finally made it to the castle it was interesting to learn that Windsor castle is actually known as the queen's "weekend house", so only a small portion of the castle was open to the public; but what I got to see was amazing. It housed items that England has gained throughout all of their history, and the basic stuff you would expect to see in a castle. After spending most of the morning at Windsor we came back to our hotel in London. Our professors gave us a quick tour of the area surrounding our hotel. After that we were on our own. Dana, Steph, Danny, and I all went and grabbed some dinner at Nandos; which is a restaurant that serves all different types of chicken. We got medium spice chicks wings and chips (French fries). It was good but almost a little spicy for my liking but I did enjoy it. That leads to now which I am sitting outside our hotel writing this post. I'm thinking of heading to bed in the next hour as I am exhausted from the flying and lack of sleep!!!! Tomorrow we have the magistrate court from 10-1, so I will let you all know how that goes!!!!! Have a good day family and friends!!!!! Below are some of the pictures that I took. 

Outside of Windsor castle.

Changing of the guard.

More of the changing of the guard.

Even more from the changing of the guard. 

All of this is from the outside if Windsor castle. We were prohibited from taking pictures indoors so this is all I can show you. 

All packed and set to go

Well it's my last night home before traveling to stay with Danny and Steph. I'm going to be honest I have been doing laundry all day and just started packing about 2 or 3 hours ago. I did create a list and have been able to check off everything. Tomorrow will be kind of a crazy day, have to go visit the bank and then Dana and I plan to leave Scottsbluff about 11 or noon, have to stop and Chadron and then we get to have a barbaque with Steph's family. Well I am going to finish watchin the end of the Spurs v. Warriors game. 

P.S. here is the bags I will be living out of the next two weeks!!!!!