It's a Long Story: Palaces, Parks, Parliament (first week in London recap)

If I could think of a word to describe this past week, it would be overwhelming. Getting into a new routine is usually overwhelming for me generally, but this is a new kind of feeling overwhelmed. I'm overwhelmed by how incredible London is, I'm overwhelmed by having a different attitude than the British, and I'm overwhelmed by how blessed I am to be here.

This past week has been filled with palaces, parks, and Parliament. Since my friends and I only worked in Parliament on Wednesday and Thursday this week, we had 3 days free to explore the palaces and parks in London. Like I said in my previous post, we went to Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park on Monday. We ended up going back to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday to watch the changing of the guards ceremony. I can't even describe the elaborateness of this. On the even days of this months, the guards at Buckingham Palace change with this incredible display of ceremony. There are bands, music, and horses galore. Picture a marching band x100.

Buckingham Palace

Wednesday and Thursday were spent in Parliament, which is a blog post all of its own. Walking into Westminster Palace for the first time on Wednesday nearly brought tears to my eyes. I feel so blessed to have this amazing experience!

Yesterday, Friday, was our day off and we decided to explore Hyde Park and Kensington Palace, which is right down the street from us. Hyde Park is huge and beautiful, as are Kensington Palace and its gardens. It's probably the biggest park I've seen in my life. Kensington Palace was incredible. As we were walking up to the Palace, we noticed that people were walking in so we decided to follow. It turns out that Kensington Palace has a public section and a private section (where Will, Kate, and Prince George, and Harry live). The public section tells the story of Queen Victoria and her husband Albert, who lived in the Palace. This was Queen Elizabeth's great-great grandmother. The Palace also had the King's Apartments and the Queen's apartments, which have both been used by kings and queens since the 1600s. Every detail of this Palace was so elaborate.