Wow. That pretty much sums up the Palace of Westminster. It's the iconic building connected to the famous Big Ben Bell which contains the houses of Parliament. The outside hints at what lays inside, but I was blown away actually walking through the halls.

The Bell tower is currently being renovated, and as such, it is hidden beneath layers of scaffolding. We were lucky enough to have seen it in person 2 years ago, so we weren't too sad about this. However with the news that the Palace of Westminster is going to go through similar restoration and be closed for 6 years, I decided that we needed to go visit it now.

We arrived a bit early for our tour which gave us a chance to take a stroll through St James Park. London has some truly magnificent parks, with ginormous trees and plenty of wildlife. It's easy to forget that you are in the middle of a metropolis when you lose sight of the buildings around you.

We have been enjoying really nice weather the entire time we have been in London. I'm not sure that this is the norm, but we are happy to take advantage of it when we have the opportunity. Sometimes it's nice to just sit on a park bench and watch the people strolling by.

Walking back to the guest entrance we ran into a protest March. The streets were closed down to vehicle traffic as the group walked past holding signs and chanting. I took a closer look and the group was walking with "Grenfell" signs, possibly seeking justice for the Grenfell Tower fire as the anniversary was just the day before. There were a few vans filled with police to ensure that more rioting didn't ensue (this happened while we were here on the Queen's birthday).

You wait for your tour in the oldest part of the building that still exists: Westminster hall. It too was under a bit of renovation as there were scaffolds and protective coverings strewn throughout the hall.

Unfortunately, since this is an active government building, we were unable to take pictures through the best bits of the tour. The only pictures we could take are from the very first room out of Westminster hall, and it is just a tiny taste of what was to come:

Unfortunately you are going to need to take my word on the following, or perhaps look up a video on YouTube...

The rooms immediately following were on par with what we had seen at Versailles. There is an initial hall which is used as a bit of a crossroads between each wing of the building. Intricately carved statues line each doorway with beautifully painted walls containing each of the saints from the U.K. We walked through a private hallway with beautiful woodwork and arches all down the length of a wing only to find ourselves in the Robing room... Where the queen privately puts on the royal crown before addressing Parliament. This room alone was worth the trip.

There was so much to see that it's sightly disappointing we were unable to take pictures through the bulk of it. We got to walk through the House of Lord's and the House of Commons. Actually walking along the benches where we had been watching the Parliment sessions online. There were a number of other rooms as well, though I am failing to remember their specific names at the moment (certainly not a reflection of the grandure of each room I can assure you!).

We had a great time and are glad we had the opportunity to go see it. Tomorrow we move to our new air bnb and the day after we head to Stonehenge!