Saturday, July 7, 2018

Borough Experience: Westminster


During our borough tour I went with Casey and saw a lot of Kensington area, which is within our flat area. We began the tour by walking to The Natural History Museum where we saw the Great Sequoia, visited the mineral and rock exhibit along with the vault which contained multiple precious minerals and stones. We eventually made it into the mammal section of the museum and saw many stuffed animals such as lions, jaguars, cheetahs, elephants, and bears. Interestingly there was a sloth bear within the exhibit and it was very strange because I did not know this was an actual animal and it was fascinating to see a small bear have the same claws that a sloth has. There were other animal figurines and multiple fossils of animals that share ancestry with multiple animals from today. We walked through the museum café to see if it was appropriate for holding class, but we decided it would be too hot to stay in the building during that time slot. As we walked past the café we found the reptilian exhibit and found a stuffed python along with other creatures like a sea turtle. We then decided to leave the Natural History Museum and made our way to Hyde park where we found a mini café, checking to see if the location would be better to hold class there, but we were worried that this place would not have food for everyone. We left the café and walked toward the Princess Diana memorial fountain, we found The Serpentine lake by this fountain and spent quiet some time looking at swans, duck’s, and pigeons. We continued by walking along the path of the lake and found another café, deciding whether to have class there. We thought this place would be better as it had more places to sit and had more shade.
From Hyde Park we left the Kensington borough and made our way into Westminster by finding Knightsbridge station and getting off at Green Park station. We walked and followed the signs until we reached Buckingham Palace. We just saw the outside of the Palace through the gate and saw the Victoria memorial in front of the Palace. We then walked along the Westminster neighborhood to find Westminster Abbey. We walked along the street and then came across the Abbey and saw the front of the building and went into the giftshop, we saw there was a line and no way to get in at this point. We saw Parliament Square from across the way and then made our way toward the Westminster Bridge, we saw the London Eye across the river Thames. Across the way, next to the bridge and in front of the Abbey, we saw the Houses of Parliament. We saw that part of the building to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben was under construction. We went walking around the perimeter of the gate around Houses of Parliament and tried finding a way into the building to find the café that we saw from the outside. We did not find an entrance for visitors and we eventually decided to head back to the flat, going through the Westminster station, ending back at South Kensington. 

Borough Plan: July 26
Meet at South Kensington station and get off at Westminster.
Look at House of Parliament and see Big Ben from the outside. I am not sure if entering Houses of Parliament is free, but guided tour tickets is a thing and I am not sure everyone wants to pay for those.
Go to Parliament Square and have class, hopefully there is shade and places to sit.
There are cafes within the area, but I do not have any plans for eating food.
Go to Westminster Abbey see the outside. Entrance is optional as tickets are required and start at 20 pounds per person. Daily service from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.
https://tickets.london/gt/tour/westminster-abbey-tickets-with-audio-guide/404
Go to Buckingham Palace mainly see the exterior, entrance into the palace is an optional choice, tickets are required, starting at 35 pounds per person and it would only be a mini event touring the Palace state rooms and Royal mews (Not sure if necessary to buy tickets in advance).
https://tickets.london/gt/tour/buckingham-palace-state-rooms-and-royal-mews/924

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