Episode 5: I Go To Hampton Court...Eventually

Ah the joy, frustration, and adventure of using the public bus system. All started out well. Carlie and I walked down to Balaclava Road and found the bus stop we needed. When the bus came along (a little late, but not too much), we hailed it and hopped on. I still find it so odd to have to indicate you wish to get on that bus. Especially when that's the only bus that stops at that stop.

Anyway, we got to Cromwell Bus Station just fine and then caught the 111 toward Heathrow which would take us to Hamptom Court. Now, here's where it got tricky. You see, we'd read the table posted next to the bus port and it said there were two stops: Hampton Court Gardens and Hampton Court Palace. We figured we needed the Palace stop since that's where we wanted to go.

So the bus toodles along through Kingston and out toward Hampton and Richmond. The stop Hampton Court Gardens comes. Then Hampton Court Green/Cardinal Wolsey (Oh, oh, I saw a building at that stop that was either a restaurant/pub or hotel and it was called The Cardinal Wolsey. I got a big kick out of this.) Then the bus goes on, through Houslow (I think that was the name of it) and Richmond and arrives at Heathrow Airport. The Hampton Court Palace stop never came.

So Carlie and I hop back on the bus and take it all the way back (we'd been on this bus for an hour and a bit just getting out there. And I actually feel asleep for some of the last bit to Heathrow). We figure this time we'll just get off at Hampton Court Gardens. So Hampton Court Green comes by again and we get ready. The next stop's name flashes up and what is it called? Hampton Court Palace. Of course. But at least we made it.

Since the journey had taken so long, we headed first to The Tiltyard Cafe for lunch. This cafe is actually built in part of the yard that Henry VIII used as a jousting court. I only had a little roast beef and a bite or two of baguette since food messes with me often, but even with that I was fine until I got back to the dorm. And cute, indulgent English guys smiled at me. The guy at the register was patient while I sorted out my money and he gave me a great smile. Plus I can't be sure, but I think he lowered the price of meal.

Or accidentally gave me too much change. Did he mean to give me two pounds back? I thought he said the meal cost 5 pounds ten pence, but maybe I misheard. The accent can be hard to understand sometimes. I gave him a 5 pound note and a 10 pence coin. What if I just didn't understand my change right and I took too much. Oh god, it's going to prey on my mind now.

Uh, sorry. I'm back now. Anyway, after lunch we walked through to the Welcome Centre (which I hear pronounced Welcome Sawn-treh) and got our tickets. Then off we went into the palace proper. And I have to say, some of the old architecture in the US is pretty but we have nothing on beautiful architecture compared to the English. That palace was soooooo pretty!

We started off our self-lead tour (we opted not to have a guide and just wander around by ourselves) in Henry VIII's apartments. First was the dining hall, which was just wall to wall tapestries that had beautiful stained glass windows above them. I sat upon Henry's throne and gave some royal waves to the plebeians in the hall. And there were a lot since the tour was there.

After the dining hall was a smaller chamber that had pillows on the ground and a lutenist (that would be someone who plays the lute) playing. It was a rather plain chamber but there was a pretty stained glass alcove-y area. Then we just wandered through a couple of galleries. There were pictures of Henry and his children. I don't think I actually saw any portraits of his wives. Maybe he just went through them too fast.

Next came Mary II/the queen's chambers. My favorite part of this part of the palace was The Queen's Drawing Room. It was seriously wall to wall, floor to ceiling art. Not just pictures hanging on the wall but also wall decoration painted on the walls and amazing art on the ceiling, even all the way into the corners. I still can't tell if the room was actually domed or simply painted that way.

Then we went into the part of the palace called The Gregorian Apartments. I'm not quite sure what they are exactly, but it looks like the Gregorian Era came after the Stuart Era in Britain, which began after Elizabeth I died and her second cousin, James (VI) Stuart, the son of mary Queen of Scots, came to rule. These apartments seemed less grand and lavish somehow. I think they were smaller rooms as well. Darker colors and less open. But the Queen's chapel-y area had a gorgeous ceiling.

I am telling you people, the architecture in this palace is absolutely fantastic. I'm not usually a building nut, but I love how beautiful this building is. Every piece has extra flourishes and molding that just adds to the beauty of the building. As we were walking we overheard one guard say it was the 4th largest palace in the world. Only 1500 rooms. I turned to Carlie and was like "Oh, this palace is tiny. It only has 1500 rooms. That's so small." :D

We wanted to go to William III's rooms as well, but we couldn't figure out how to get there so we went out to the gardens instead. Where Carlie wanted to climb a tree. But we figured this was probably not a very good idea. We really didn't want to be thrown out for rebel tree-climbing. So she settled for taking a picture popping out from behind one instead.

The trees' tops looked like they'd been sculpted into domes, but their gardener seems to be a little inexperienced. Or maybe he had a vision. One where he can mostly make them domes but let them retain their individuality by leaving bumps rather than a perfectly smooth dome. The management must have gone soft in the times since Henry VIII. He would have lopped off the gardener's head.

We wandered toward this pond area, across which you could see the banner for the flower festival happening at the palace right now, and there we met with a fearsome sight. A rather large, bloodthirsty* swan. Seriously, the thing was huge! We decided that it probably is fed those visitors who climb the trees. Pretty good incentive not to do this.

After this we came to the maze. And in our foolishness we didn't look at the map to see where we were actually going before entering into the maze. So we didn't have a real clear idea of where we were headed. I thought I remembered being told at one point to just follow the hedge around, never breaking contact with the one side you chose to keep it on. As this led us to our only dead end, we stopped following my muddled mind. But we had fun and got out eventually. Plus we have some fun, Harry Potter 4-esque shots of the hedge eating us.

Barely escape the maze with our lives and sanity intact, we headed for the gift shop. Which doesn't have Hampton Court t-shirts. Is that simply an American thing? I did however finally find a nesting doll set that I will love and cherish. It has Henry VIII as the outermost capsule and then his wives, in order, inside of him. I think it may also have Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, but I don't remember. I just know that it is awesome. I also picked up something for my mom who really needs to come back here with me one day.

Feeling satisfied with the day, Carlie and I rode the 111 bus back to the Cromwell Bus Station. Then we asked the Information Booth guy there and he helped us find what bus to take back. It stopped only as close as Sainsbury, our grocery store, but that was okay. My feet were burning a little by the time we finally reached the dorm, but I had an extremely satisfying day and can't wait for Theatre tomorrow.

Today's lesson: sometimes the bus stop lies and so if it looks close enough, just get off and walk the remaining distance. Ciao

*note, bloodthirsty is the opinion of the author and cannot be verified as she did not see it actually eat someone. But it totally could have.