On the morning of Friday the 13th of September, I awoke early to fulfill a dream. I am going to Hampton Court Palace, home of Henry VIII and his infamous wives. If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with the Tudor Dynasty and it's 100 year rule over the beautiful country of England. I am not the biggest fan of Henry VIII himself, as he was quite an ass, but hey, we all have our faults.
Margie and I leave Gloucester Road Station by 10, after I had gotten some medicine since I am still sick, and seeing no hope of getting better. The menthol cough syrup created a hot yet pleasant burn down my throat when I drank it. We got off at Wimbledon Station, to get on the National Rail service. We asked where to get to Hampton Court and were directed to Platform 8. In our haste to see the home of Henry, we jumped on the first train that came, not paying attention to it's destination, which was, in fact, definitely not Hampton Court. Alas, after jumping on a couple of different trains, we made our way to our stop.
As you walk away from the station, you approach a bridge crossing the river Thames, (this river is everywhere, I swear) and across the river you see Hampton Court Palace in all its red brick glory. It felt like Christmas! The joy was overwhelming.We chose to get lunch before embarking on the Palace. We ate at the Palace's touristy cafe, which was amazing. I loved the Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew over rice. It was probably one of the best meals I have had since I have been in England. Thank you Henry for the delicious food out of your kitchens ( wait until I tell you about Henry's kitchens!). Walking from the cafe to the Palace, we pranced through a small garden full of various roses. It was so beautiful. There were roses growing all over the place, on walls, the ground, alone, in bunches, you name the color. Purple roses? Yes.
The Hampton Court Palace allows you to get the full Tudor effect by borrowing a velvet robe to sport around. Mine was a deep green and matched my eyes nicely. We got audio guides which were awesome because now I don't have to interact with anyone. Hermit.
We started in the great kitchens. Henry's court was 600 people strong, and needed a kitchen staff of 200 to feed the court twice a day. So you can only imagine the size of this kitchen factory. There were 16 fireplaces for roasting. Roasting is a very special form of cooking, and only the wealthiest can enjoy it. Eating meat was also very expensive. Henry's diet was 70% meat. From Oxen to deer, the Royal Court devoured thousands a year. The wine cellar was also quite large and was refilled every week! We finished the kitchen tour off at the gift shop (of course). It was such a cool shop though. Bronze cookery and cute recipe books!
After that we were really close to the Royal Bedchambers Exhibition so we decided to pop in there. It was really interesting to learn how monarchs in the 17th century ruled from their bed. They were extravagant beds, but they were rarely ever slept in. As we entered the exhibition, there was a large room with a bunch of old time mattresses on the floor. I was so confused. We figured out that you are supposed to lay on them and watch the show that is projected onto the ceiling. It was awesome and the beds were like heaven! We almost fell asleep! We walked through the exhibit and were not permitted to take pictures, so sorry for that. We got to see a couple royal chamber pots, a shaving kit, 4 big beds, and much more!
After the Bedchamber exhibition we went to the Georgian side of the palace that was obviously built during the Georgian era, not Henry's Era. From the windows of the Georgian side, you can see a magnificent garden that sprawls out into the horizon. What a fantastic view waking up every morning. I am not much into the Georgian period (yet) so I didn't pay AS close of attention as I did to the Henry parts. Probably because I was getting overwhelmed by the vastness of this Palace.
We moved back to Henry's side of the Palace and got to see the Great Hall where all the balls, masquerades, feasts, and meals were held. Wow. Just wow. Henry and Anne designed the Hall together, and some of their "remembrances" are still left there today, although most were stricken from the room after Anne's beheading. The waiting room for Henry (where the skit took place) was outside his bedroom and was a room where people would come and wait and wait and wait for his presence. They would come from all over to get to speak to the King on any sort of petition. Sometimes the king did not emerge from his room for days at a time. There was a bathroom connected to the waiting room so guests could relieve themselves without having to travel far. Henry was rather ornery. Connecting his waiting room to the Privy Chamber (where the Privy Council would do all their meetings) was a hallway that was recently (2009) decorated in red drapes and new portraits of the king. This hallway is said to be haunted by the late 'Queen' Katherine Howard. I agree that this hallway was haunted, as my gypsy senses told me to GTFO. There have been numerous reports of people having difficulty in this hallway until 2009 when the red drapes went up. So hopefully they do not take them down, as I am sure the visitors do not want to be punched in the stomach by Katherine Howard. The Privy Chamber was fantastic. Henry's chair (or a remake rather) was seated in the center and the others formed around it in a circle. I recall reading about so many council meetings and such. It was crazy to actually be in that VERY room! It still overwhelms me.
The gardens are another magnificent part of this Palace that we were unable to see due to the lovely English weather. We made our way back home (a quick 20 minute ride to Wimbledon, then 30 on the tube) after we spent a few pounds in the gift shop. Naturally I purchased a Tudor Rose pin to pin on my backpack with all of my other pins I have been collecting, a cheap little quick Monarch guide to the British Isles, and a "Christmas ornament" of a velvet Tudor rose, which I am hanging on my tack board at the moment.
After our return, I went to a club with my roommate and a couple of friends. To say the least, I was so irritated because we got there at 10:30 (to avoid the cover charge) so nothing was going on except some casual people chilling. That was lame, and all the girls wanted to do was take pictures of each other. No, that isn't a good 'night out' to me, so that was lame. I finally got a glass of wine after Nicole and I waited for 15 minutes probably. So, I tried to be chill and have a good time, but I decided that after I finish my wine, I am going to go on home and hit the hay since I was sleepy anyhow. I set my glass down on the counter.
Apparently I am the Hulk because I crushed the glass under my hand and a shard of the stem sliced open my pinky finger in two places. I screamed and some people around me freaked out, and we stared at my finger until it started bleeding, and once it started it was like a fountain of blood! I haven't cut myself in so long that it was insane. Someone told a member of staff and they drug me to the backroom where a nice Italian man bandaged me up. He was really funny, making jokes about how it is like wrapping a burrito up. Then he said he has never really wrapped a burrito, which isn't shocking since he is Italian. I think he was the owner or something. The manager woman ran in as well to make sure I was ok. We all laughed a bit, and she said I need a shot of tequila for the pain. I didn't argue. She left and returned with a shot for me, and for herself. *Cheers* and my night began.
Eventually the bandage fell off somehow, so I had to get a new one, which called for another shot. Then I saw the Italian guy somewhere in the club and he asked if I wanted another, and before I knew it, I was dancing the time away with my friends. The people I came with decided they wanted to leave around 12, and I was NOT leaving now that I was having fun, so I stayed with Haily and we had a good time.
I got home and went to sleep.
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