Waking up at 9:00 am for the first time in nearly a week was a rough start to what would be a beautiful day. We got to Hampton Court around 10:15 and headed straight to the palace, crossing a bridge that had a beautiful view of the Thames River. When we arrived at the palace, we each grabbed a portable tour guide, phone thingy and headphones (which I did not use a lot), and then started our tours. My favorite part of the palace was actually the garden and grounds around it, but going through the kitchens which were used during Henry VIII’s rule was really interesting. It was fun to learn that the monarchs were as obsessed with chocolate as we are now, (there was multiple rooms dedicated to chocolate making) but it did give me slight PTSD from working at the Auntie Annes/Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on Dickson. The chapel that was inside the castle was also cool because it had a lot of stars along the ceiling, but it was fairly small and the staff lady inside was quite rude to the person in front of me, simply for having a camera inside. The gardens outside of the palace, however, was one of the coolest things that I have gotten to see. All of the flowers and trimmed hedges were super fun to look at and getting to take pictures in front of the large fountain was a highlight of my day. There was also a seeming small, but actually really large Hedge Maze that a few of us got lost in for a moment. After finding Jackson curled up in a ball and crying at a dead end, we were able to trace a thread of yarn that I had placed to make it out of the maze, mostly safe and partially sound. After our time in the maze, we ran into Courtney and Shawn who guided us back to the entrance of the palace and we then headed into the town of Hampton Court to grab lunch before heading back to London. I got the best apple juice of my life and a mozzarella, tomato, and pesto sandwich that was also pretty good, but not as good as my sandwich in Bath. Then, the others in my group went into an antique shop while I walked around the streets looking at all of the unique buildings (which reminded me a lot of Shawn of the Dead). Finally, at 2:40 pm, we met in front of the station and headed back to London. I am writing this right before I see Six, tonight, at the Vaudeville Theatre and I think it is kind of the perfect time to go see that show, since it is about six of Henry VIII’s wives. Overall, visiting Hampton Court Palace was an awesome and fun day. (Jackson didn’t actually cry, it was more of a single tear moment.)
Theatre in London U of A 