London continued....

A few more photos of London....

Houses of Parliament

While reading about the Houses of Parliment on Wikipedia I came across this which I thought was quiet funny....

Rules and traditions

Eating, drinking and smoking

The Palace has accumulated many rules and traditions over the centuries. Smoking has not been allowed in the chamber of the House of Commons since the 17th century. As a result, Members may take snuff instead and the doorkeepers still keep a snuff-box for this purpose. Despite persistent media rumours, it has not been possible to smoke anywhere inside the Palace since 2005. Members may not eat or drink in the chamber; the exception to this rule is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who may have an alcoholic drink while delivering the Budgetstatement.

Have a great day

Sight seeing in London....

What better way to entertain the the girl, the boy and mess maker during half term then a trip to London, the long walk would wear them out and they might learn a thing or two (I normally do)....

View of Big Ben from Buckingham Palace 

All interesting Information from Wikipedia....

'Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. It is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world.'

Buckingham Palace 

'Buckingham Palace is the London home and primary residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a focus for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.'

Westminster Abbey 

(such a beautiful building)

'The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, England, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English, later British and later still (and currently) monarchs of the Commonwealth realms.' 

More of Westminster Abbey....

(I completely fell in love with this door)

Jewel Tower

(Jewel Tower with a name like that how can I resist?)

'The Jewel Tower in London is one of only two surviving sections of the medieval royal Palace of Westminster, the other being Westminster Hall. It was built in approximately 1365 to house the treasures of Edward III and its alternative name was the "King's Privy Wardrobe". It is a small three storey building constructed of stone, which stands across the road from the current Palace of Westminster, home of the British Parliament. It was located at the far southern end of the palace complex, and was built into the palace's defensive walls but was detached from the main buildings, which explains its survival of the great fire of 1834 which destroyed most of the palace.'

To be continued....

Bead soup teaser

Bead soup day is getting closer, so heres a little teaser....

You would not belive how busy this week has been! The children are off school and the other half is off work so suposidly we are relaxing!
Yesterday the wonderful other half desided to take us all on a suprise trip to London....

(Mess maker enjoyed the train ride)

And it seems all the hint's about going to visit a glass gallery paid off....

Tho children, back packs and glass is not a mix for the faint hearted, they managed not to break any thing but we did not stay long enough to push our luck!
Then of course off to visit Hamleys, much of the visit was a blur....

 Loved all the Harry Potter stuffs and Fantastic other half insisted on buying me a Harry Potter pen!

 More site seeing (The girl would have killed me if I did not add a pic of her as well)

We all had such a fantastic day and such a peaseful night as they were all worn out!

Elephants

Such a busy day! Other half took me, mess maker and the girl up to London. A good day was had by all especially mess maker as she had her first trip to the Haagen Dazs cafe, Ice cream every where. 

Loving the elephants that are all over London at the moment, I'm just about to look up what they are all about after I've typed this, But a pic so you know what I'm talking about.....

There were some really beautiful ones and some 'loud' ones! Heres a close up of the side, and the girl....

Just a shame the battery on my phone died I would have liked to get some pics of the other ones, ah well maybe next time!