Hampton Court

Jignesh and the palace in the background

Some of the manicured gardens


More manicured gardens


Another shot of the palace


The palace and the gardens


We made it!



Henry VIII

In an attempt to see more of the UK before our move to Swizterland, we headed outside of the city this weekend to explore Hampton Court. One of the main residences of Henry VIII, Hampton Court is a palatial complex filled with history. Unlike many of the other palace and castles that we have visited, Hampton Court treats visitors to re-enactments of special occasions that occured within its walls. We were lucky enough to be invited to the Order of Service of the marriage between King Henry VIII and his sixth wife to be, Katherine Parr. We followed the costumed actors throughout the palace as they prepared for the big day. In the process, we learned about many details of the life during the those times. After the tour, we explored the rest of the palace on our own, including the vast kitchens and private aparments of Henry VIII. Our day ended with a fantastic lunch at an outdoor cafe (London was enjoying an unusually warm, sunny day) and a long stroll through the amazing gardens. We even found our way through the famous Hampton Court maze and watched some locals play on the the royal tennis court (a cross between racquetball and tennis). We are also tempted to pick some grapes from the world's longest grape vine. It was great to escape the city and see a bit of the English countryside.

Cheers!