Death, Mayhem, & Westminster

Photo credit to my new friend Tracy Tolf!

Warning! Photodump ahead! With sporadic comments and explanations and whatnot. 

My day started off with a tour by one of the professors here. He called it "Death, Mayhem, & Westminster." I affectionately called it the "Murder Tour."  It was awesome.

This is Queen Boudica, Warrior Queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe. She led an army that took down all but ONE of the Roman troops. They tried to intimidate her by killing her husband in front of her and raping her daughters, but this woman was fierce and didn't let it stop her. Here, of course, she is pictured in the Roman attire of a toga, wheeling a chariot--she was not Roman.

This is Oliver Cromwell. He died twice. First he died a regular death (that is, of some disease) and they put his body in Westminster Abbey. Three years later they dug up his body and put it on trial for treason and then sentenced him to death and killed him again. Then they put his head on a pole outside Westminster Hall and let it sit for over 20 years. Gotta love the Brits.

Westminster Palace

My favorite shot of the day: Westminster Abbey, featuring the oldest stained glass since the Middle Ages. I just happened to get the rainbow as a trick of the light but I am SO happy about it!

Milicent Fawcett. A kick-ass suffragette who is also the first woman to have a statue in Parliament Square. Courage calls to courage everywhere.

This man has been deemed (by me) as Monopoly Man.

A few more! 

And then we went on a cruise on the river Thames, so here is a bunch of the scenery.

The London Eye at sunset! Literally golden.

Big Ben is under construction!!

And finally, here are my allotted tourist shots from the day, again with photo credit to Tracy Tolf.

The Trafalgar Square Lions. Rumour has it that if you get your picture taken with the lions, you will come back to London some day....Guess this means I'm coming back twice!

With lovely construction of Big Ben in the background.

Caught in the act taking a picture!

Thanks for reading/looking!