Shakespeare's Globe

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Last weekend I got the opportunity to tour the Houses of Parliament in London which was pretty amazing. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures. The buildings were so ornate and decorative inside and out, completely unlike any government building in the US. There is also an entire room, called the Queen's Robing Room, devoted entirely to the occasion of the Queen donning her elaborate velvet robe with a 10 foot train before she enters the House of Lords to officially open Parliament. This occasion happens once a year.
The English love their traditions and are very superstitious. For example, outside the House of Commons on the left there is a statue of Winston Churchill and on the right, a statue of Lloyd George. Both statues are enameled in black except for their toes which are copper because the black has worn off and this is why. Members of the House who are in the Conservative party will rub the toe of Churchill on their way in for good luck. Members of the Labour party do similarly to Lloyd George's toe. The decorators/curators at the Houses of Parliament find this very irksome as they have to re-black the statues every few years. 😊
In the afternoon of the same day our group also toured Shakespeare's Globe which we were allowed to photograph. I was so excited to be inside the Globe and I am definitely going back sometime later this spring to see a show. I know it's not the original but it's as close as it can be. The structure is made entirely of wood. There are no metal nails or screws at all. I found it interesting that the theatre uses stage lighting and does not rely solely on sunlight as they did in Shakespeare's time. This is because they actually perform two shows a day on most days, so the afternoon show is sunlit and the evening show is electricity-lit. But according to our guide, the lights are designed to look as closed to natural sunlight as possible. 😊

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Photos

Some guys
These guys were fixing the pillar. I think. Kinda took the magic away from the stage for a few minutes.

Me in front of the stage
They wouldn't let me go up onstage. I asked.

Gentlemen's Boxes
If you were rich you could sit in the Gentlemen's boxes which have painted walls and include small table and chairs with backs.

The seating Galleries
I tried to get all three galleries in the picture.

View from Blackfriar's Bridge
I was on my way to the tube to go home and I thought this was pretty.