Friday we went to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (officially, Westminster Palace). It's absolutely enormous, considering all that's really important in there is the room where the House of Commons meets to debate. Britain puts a lot more into ceremony and tradition than Americans tend to. But it's actually all very cool. The building is built in a neo-gothic style, and it's incredibly ornate, you should see the cielings inside. It's connected to a hall that dates back from at least the 13th C, if not earlier (excuse my faulty memory). Apparently, the debates in the house of commons actually get pretty exciting. Maybe I'll have to come back and watch someday.
Afterwards we went for a walk down the southside of the Thames River. It's beautiful, will all the bridges and buildings. It was really fun too. We saw some people pretending to be statues, and some invisible men (the people had jackets with shoulders that went about their heads, and then hats wired to float above. We also saw a magician, who was really good. And we walked past this skate park under an overpass that was absolutely covered in the most amazing graffiti. I actually haven't seen too much graffiti in London, but this must have been the exception.
There was also a lot of random modern art, including this awesome furniture.
If you've ever wondered why when someone's in jail you say they're "in the clink", it's because there actually was a jail in London called the Clink that's been around for a very long time and is now a museum.
This is a replica of the Golden Hinde, which I think was the first ship a Brit used to circumnavigate the world.
A pretty picture of Southwark Abbey (pronounced suth-uck)
The Tower Bridge. I swear it belongs in Disneyland.
A picture of the Thames
Saturday we went to the famous Portabello Road. Apparently, it's the largest antique street market in the world. It's also a featured in a song in Bednobs and Broomsticks. We spent a couple hours wandering down (a part) of the road looking at all the old china, jewelry, pictures, books, keys, cutlery, and such. They had some awesome old skeleton keys, and I ended up getting a small one, which you'll all have to see some day.
We also found a Scottish shop where we tried on these really cool hats. We decided we'd never have an occasion to wear them anywhere, but we took a picture anyway.
In the evening we went down to St. Martin-in-the-Fields at Trafalgar Square. Here it is at sunset. It's very popular in London to sit on the steps of well-trafficked areas.
We saw a performance of Vivaldi and some other Baroque composers. The music was just beautiful. The sound was amazing. I loved it. I hadn't realized how much feeling Baroque music could have.Today I went to my ward, Crystal Palace, for the first time. It's held in a school, and we have to take the tube, a train, and then walk to get there. I think the three of us students who went doubled the number of white people in the congregation. It's a very small ward, and everyone is African. I'm not sure what part they're from, but I heard Nigeria somewhere. Most of the members in London are converts, so it was a really different experience.
I also went down to the Hyde Park Ward in the evening to hear the CES Fireside by Holland. It was actually broadcast in the States last Sunday, but I would have had to be up at about 1:00 in the morning here to see it. It was well worth watching though. He talked about Joseph Smith's experience in Liberty Jail and how it was a "prison temple." Really an interesting thought. He was basically reminding people that we all go through very dark and difficult times, but that doesn't mean God has forgotten us. On the contrary, he is there with us, listening, "and when we weep, He and the angels of heaven weep with us." Never doubt that he is there, and it is often when things look the darkest that we come closest to God.
I can hardly believe I've only been here a week. I've seen and done so many things! And there's still so much to do. I don't know what people do when they only come for a week. I'm so glad I have months yet to look forward to!
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