After being home sick for two days...I decided to take time this Monday and head out to Hampton Court Palace. It was an amazingly beautiful day, not a cloud in site for most of it. There was a good breeze going and I knew I should have taken my jacket but opted not to do so. Since I've been here, I've gotten too hot with my jacket and I just didn't want to carry it around if I got hot once again. It wasn't too cold, but there were moments throughout the day when I wish I had brought it.
Anyways...I headed out at around 11 a.m. and was on the train to Hampton Court at 12:06. For those of you who aren't familiar with Hampton Court Palace, it is a royal palace in the London borough of Richmond upon the Thames river. It was originally built by Cardinal Wolsey in 1514. When Wolsey fell from grace from King Henry VIII, the palace was passed over to the King where he expanded the original structure. A century later, King William III had a massive rebuilding and expansion project leaving the palace in two distinct architectural styles (1694), Tudor and Baroque. The palace is known for many historic events as well as being a retreat for royalty and for housing foreign dignitaries.
Okay, enough of the history lesson. If I don't stop now I will go on and on. I realize that not everyone shares my interest and fascination with court culture of early modern Europe. When I arrived via train, I had to walk across a bridge, over the river Thames. To your right, you're able to see some of the palace. As you approach, the view is amazing. Just by looking at the entrance, you know that you are looking at a grand architectural structure...you just don't realize how grand. The palace is massive, the garden grounds just as big.
You enter through the main gates into Base Court where all visitors were met. It's hard to believe that there are more gates to pass through to go deeper into the palace. The self-guided tour took you into the kitchen and oven areas to the wine cellar and food preparation areas. Unfortunately I couldn't access the Great Hall since it was sectioned off for school kids and eating their lunch. I was quite bummed at this because the Great Hall is quite massive and beautiful (from the pictures in the booklet). I was able to enter into the apartments where Henry VIII once stayed as did his queens. The woodworking on the walls and ceiling were amazing. I tried imagining what it must have been like during their times. Once you're done with the Tudor section of the palace, you travel into the Baroque section which is even more grandiose. King William III's apartments were ridiculous and grand. Queen Mary II's were also just as grand with views of the Privy Garden. After walking through the maze of rooms in these two apartments, I decided to go out onto the garden areas. The two largest gardens, the Privy Gardens and the Formal Gardens, were stunning and because it was such a beautiful day out, it made it even more beautiful. Following the gardens, I went into the Chapel Royal. The ceiling of this chapel is exquisite and breathtaking. It's one that can only be explained by looking at a picture to see the detailing of the paint. From there I was pretty much tired and ready to sit down and/or venture back to where I was staying. However...I knew that there was a garden maze on the property and I was not going to miss that. It was small, but fun nonetheless. When I was done with the maze, I needed to have a bite and rest my feet and back. So I headed to the tea room for a slice of carrot cake before heading back to the train for home.
I believe that it was about 4:30 p.m. when I headed back towards the train station. The day had been a complete success so far. Hampton Court Palace was all that I had expected and more. I waited for the 5:00 p.m. train and knew that I was going to hit rush hour and was prepared. What I was not prepared for...was the Underground trains going out of commission at Victoria street. Instead of waiting in a huge crowd of people I decided to go above ground and take a bus back to Hackney. The only problem, and I realized as I started walking to the bus stop, is that I was only familiar with the buses from the Euston station to take me back to North London. Oi! I figured if I just walked I would find a bus back to Hackney. So I walked, and walked, and walked. Finally I pulled out my bus map and realized I wasn't familiar with what buses went into Hackney. Luckily I'm very good with maps and I figured out where I was at and where I could catch one of the many buses back to where I needed to go.
FINALLY, I got back to the flat where I was staying only to have to move my stuff to my final place of residency. I'm back at the house where I spent my first week. Only one of the couples that lives there is in Australia visiting family so I am in their attic room. I'm very happy with this room as it has its own bathroom and shower and is much larger than the first room. The bed is quite comfortable as well :)
Exhausted from a full day of travel, walking and moving, I crashed hard and had a wonderful night's sleep.
Big Ben
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