Hampton Court Palace – Day 16

Hampton Court Palace- Day 16

1. We weren’t confused on this train ride, and were able to find our seats quickly…thanks Shawn. 
2. Saw some Shakespearean acting within Hampton Court Palace, they were reenacting Midsummer and another scene that I was not familiar with. 
3. I ate a Jacket Potato with cheese and beans, which is basically just a baked potato with chili on top..but Ted Lasso inspired me and I had to eat one. I will be remaking this when I get home, with a way better baked potato. 
4. We fed Ducks by one of the Hampton Court Ponds. Not entirely sure if I was supposed to, but it felt like they were telling me to feed them and they eat out of my hand. 
5. I sunbathed in the Rose garden, which was GORGEOUS!! And it was less of a sun bathe since I hate jackets on but the sun and all of the flowers were so breathtaking, I’m gonna let it count. 
6. Caught an episode of One Tree Hill upon returning to the hotel, the day after meeting Sophia Bush herself. 
7.  Ate Taco Bell for dinner…for the second time. Somehow it tastes better but also makes me miss Taco Bell from back home. Don’t go to McDonald’s though in my opinion it was lackluster compared to Taco Bell. 
8. Tried a Wagon Wheel and a Timeout (both chocolate cookie things). Timeouts are my new favorite thing, 12/10 recommended, I didn’t vibe with the jam in the Wagon Wheel. 
9. Planned out last minute details for my small group’s adventure to Amsterdam happening on Friday!! Can’t wait!
10. Settling in for another night of board games and blog posts!

Hampton Court Palace is a maze within itself, not including its actual maze that is on its grounds. The two places I spent the most time were William III’s apartment and Henry VII’s home. I enjoyed William’s apartment more as I got to learn more about his life and fun facts about him (did you know he had asthma? That’s why the steps to his apartment were so shallow). I felt like being in his apartment I got to see more of his life even in his bathroom (that was the highlight of his apartment for me, he had a velvet toilet seat). But when I was in Henry’s home it felt more like it was meant for entertaining (he did do a lot of entertaining here and had many halls for this purpose). But I felt like because of the popularity and everyone knowing who Henry VII is, many people were crammed into his home and so were many attractions, including performances. So it was hard to really learn about his life. But I mean do we really want to learn about Henry VII because he was a pretty shitty dude, and that’s an understatement. So I guess it was a blessing in disguise. Even though Henry’s quarters were the ones that connected most of the things I saw before stepping into different sections of the palace, it just felt lackluster to me but again it might have something to do with the man (it won’t be the first or last time I’m saying that).

My favorite part of Hampton Court Palace was being outside! I know, shocking, I’m not the typical outside girly. But sitting in the grass surrounded by the prettiest flowers, so many ducks, and the biggest bumblebees I have ever seen made me realize why people live in palaces. It’s not for the inside, it’s for the outside. You get your own garden, multiple if you’re lucky. And it’s phenomenal, I could have spent all day out there reading, feeding ducks, or simply just watching people harvest blooms (which I did all of these things). The upkeep of these gardens must take forever and a day but in my opinion it’s so worth it, because I could get lost exploring and I didn’t even need to go in the maze. All I had to do was frolic around until my heart was content enough to sit down. I guess I could put up and well out for Henry VII if it meant I got all of these gardens but he would still probably kill me…oh well. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do, especially when they don’t have rights.