2024 London/Scotland

After an easy travel day, we arrived London just after noon. The immigration process was surprisingly easy and fast!! Way better than the process we endured on our recent trip to Toronto. The Canadians should really learn something from UK.

Our hotel is located at the heart of London. Walking distance to many attractions in the city.

I was fortunate enough to book a tour at the Parliament House, since they only open to the public few times a month.

Walking towards the Parliament House should’ve been an easy 18 minute walk, but a massive pro-Palestinian protest slowed down our pace.

There were at least 40,000 people, carrying cease fire and pro-Palestinian signs, shouting slogans, and making speeches on a stage. Many Met Police officers were watching the march with vigilance. It was chaotic but peaceful.

We also encountered protests for Zimbabwe and Sir Lanka on our way. Not as big as the pro-Palestinian march, but they also made their voices heard.

The entire heart of London was sea of people everywhere we looked…until we reached the Palace of Westminster, where House of Parliament is.

The Big Ben clock tower soared into the sky, welcome us with its magnificence. The line for the visitor entrance wasn’t too long at all.

Walking into the massive hall where past Kings and Queens made their speeches to public was definitely awe inspiring. The signature gothic architecture style is consistent throughout the entire palace. The magnificent mosaic window reaches all the way to the celling.

The staff working here were very polite and efficient. I accidentally dropped my water bottle and spilled water on the stairs, a staff was by my side almost immediately, smiled at me to ease my embarrassment, and talked on the walkie to ask for cleaning up.

Considering the house of parliament is a working space for the lords and MPs to make policies, it’s remarkable to us that they open it to the public at all. We got the chance to walk through the glittering halls with golden ceilings, viewing the royal portraits and the statues of important Prime Ministers, like Churchill and Thatcher. Most amazingly, the halls of lords and commons where they actually debate and making laws and regulations. I wonder if they allow the public to walk through the halls in US congress like this.

By the time we completed our tour, all the protesters had dispersed, but there were still massive crowds everywhere we went. I was just glad we didn’t need to take any public transportation at this point.

Dinner was at one of the best Indian restaurants in London called Colonial Saab. We were delighted to see there were many dishes on the menu that we don’t usually see in other Indian restaurants. The food was delicious! There was an extra layer of complexity in the flavor that made it stand above the other Indian dishes we had before, including the food we had when we were in India a few years ago.

By the time we got back to our hotel, we were tired but content. Early bed time for us today!Leer más