Monday at the Palace

Beginning my third week in London at a Royal Palace definitely takes away the Monday blahs. Today, my class visited Hampton Court Palace, which is where Henry VIII and his many wives lived. It was not actually built by the King, and he did not live there until 1528 when he basically took it from his friend and aid, Cardinal Wolsey. The Palace was beautiful, and mixed different periods of architecture because in the 17th century it was rebuilt. Gothic and classical styles were everywhere on the buildings, and the gardens in the back have been compared to Versailles. But my professor, Andrew, said for those who have been to Versailles, it is a sad comparison, as the one in France is much more impressive.

We spent hours inside the Palace today and were able to see the Chapel Royal, the Tudor kitchens, the gardens, and all of William III's Apartments, so where he spent time. I think this palace may be my favorite site we have seen so far. Everything was so gorgeous, with paintings on every ceiling, and carved wood everywhere. The Chapel was my favorite, but sadly, we couldn't take pictures. We almost weren't allowed to see it at all because we were a group. Andrew asked a woman that worked there and she said they didn't allow school groups, so we continued our tour, went downstairs, and then Andrew told us to sneak in in pairs. It was pretty great, he had us go in small groups, nonchalantly, so that we could all see it. The Chapel itself isn't that big or grand, but the artwork is breathtaking. The ceiling was painted a turquoise blue with gold stars everywhere and had wooden pendants and ornaments everywhere. The altar was all wooden, as well as the pews, but it was so fabulous. I'm sure if anyone wanted to see what it looks like, there is a picture online somewhere, look up Hampton Court Chapel Royal.

I know I already talked about the gardens, but they were one of my favorite parts too. The trees looked like huge mushrooms, and the fountains were beautiful.

Mom, I thought of you all day, I tried to take a lot of pictures so that you could see everything I did. I think this would have been your favorite thing as well, everything was just so fabulous, the chandeliers, tapestries, and marble tables.

Anyways, I feel like I used a lot of adjectives in this blog in attempts to describe my day, but I'm sure I didn't do it justice. Note to anyone who ever visits the London area, Hampton Court is a worthwhile stop.

Hope your Mondays were good, much Love from London.