Week 4: Squares, Palaces, & Egregious Americans

For the first time since my parents left London I finally had the opportunity to see the sites; my friends and I resolved to put our readings aside and explore the city. Our first stop was King's Cross train station, a five minute walk from our dorm. You might be thinking to yourself: why would Soham go see a train station? Train stations are everywhere, what is so special about King's Cross. Well, King's Cross is home to a famous platform - "Platform 9 3/4." This is the platform Harry Potter used to board the Hogwartz Express in J.K. Rowlings series of books. At first it was hard to find the location and we told ourselves we wouldn't be embarrassed by asking someone. Much to our dismay we could not find the platform as it had been moved due to construction at the station; after asking a police officer (who seemed frustrated and gave us a "stupid Americans" look) we found a huge crowd taking pictures in front of the wall.

 After we brought out the kid inside of us, we took an impromptu trip to Buckingham Palace. Because it was a nice day outside, we walked and were able to enjoy the weather (very unusual) and see other British landmarks. Trafalgar Square was our second stop. The square is named after the famous Battle of Trafalgar in which the British navy was able to defeat the combined Spanish and French fleets, thus proving their naval superiority. The leader of the British fleet - Admiral Horatio Nelson - appropriately overlooks the square, and is guarded by four sitting lions (which people climb, of course). Here are some pictures from this beautiful landmark:

We eventually got to our destination, Buckingham Palace, after digressing to see the backyard of 10 Downing Street (Black Townhouse)

Upon first seeing the Queen's residence I was not too impressed. It is more of a large square building - lacking glamor and prestige. The Queen herself said that she does not like living there because it does not have a "homey" feel.  We were not able to see the changing of the guard (which is not similar to the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery) because it happens every other day at noon and we went around five pm. Regardless, the palace does have a majestic aura around it. I was surprised, however, to go very close to the opening gates of the Palace. Everyone knows that you cannot go that close to the White House - so that aspect was pretty cool. You can judge for yourself:

In comparison to our weekend adventure the rest of the week was not too exciting. It was dominated by homework, lectures, and tutorials, none of which would enthuse you to read about. The only aspect of the week that I can think to write about came on Thursday afternoon in my law tutorial. Instead of having a regular question and answer session to review the lecture material, my class teacher made us attend a talk by a Notre Dame law professor who spoke on the topic of "Obama's Drone Wars." Even before I attended the talk I knew the speaker was going to address the legality of the operations the US is conducting in Pakistan, which are questionable to some extent. I did not know, however, how much she would bash the United States and disrespect the Presidency. I e-mailed me dad during the presentation and said that "it takes a special kind of coward to come to another country and speak ill of one's own." From that you can guess how much the speaker angered me. Her logic was flawed, her arguments were easily penetrable, and her insults were egregious. I wanted to stand up and break apart her reasoning but I was fearful the class teacher (who grades my work) would see it in a bad light as he is good friends with her. I guess I will have to wait until class  next Thursday to speak my mind.

Until next week!