My House is a very, very, very big House

Because I had time, I thought I would go look around my House. My House of Parliament that is! Fine, I admit it is a bit odd to take time out to go an look at the building our government sits in (what makes it special is that government sits there, not anything else), but I hadn't been there for a decade or so, and it was free, I had the time... so why not?

Just to get into the place, you go through a scanner (like at an airport) to make sure you are not carrying anythings suspicious, and you have to check in your jacket, phone, cameras, etc., so don't look for any pictures. The tour takes an hour, and we wander all over the place, so while we get a look at different parts inside, be prepared for stairs (one elderly woman concerned the guide with how careful she was going up and down).

Being a part of a tour means that you don't really get a good chance to look around. There were some displays I would have liked to look more at, but we had to move on. On the other side, I hope you want to see earthquake protection, in the form of base isolation, because we spent 10 minutes on that (and it wasn't like that wasn't already covered in the preliminary DVD they played). Still, we did get to see key rooms, including where the parties actually sit, in the room with green carpet (which signifies that the place belongs to the people, so we can go whenever we want) and the Queen isn't allowed there (there's a lesser room with red carpet she can go to).

It is a very fine building, and there is a lot of history there... check it out if you are in the area.

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