Sept 3

Our first full day in London dawned a little later than we expected as we caught up on the sleep we missed on the plane ride over. A quick breakfast, then a leisurely ride in a London taxi brought us to the Westminster bridge hotel, just across the Thames from Parliament and Big Ben. Our ride took us around Kensington Garden and Hyde Park, and past Buckingham Palace.




We then set off for Hampton Court by train. Hampton is the palace owned by Henry VIII, and expanded by William & Mary and the Kings George among others. Built for entertaining on the Thames, the entrance court was large and welcoming with a large number of suites for overnight guests surrounding the court. Each had its own privy, as well as the additional fineries. The court




itself has a wine fountain (also used for water) and a kitchen just off the court built to cook for up to 1,200 people. They specialized in roasting meat over open fires, with a ceiling 40 feet high and a variety of stoves and ovens, plus their own wine cellar. They Court averaged drinking just under one barrel of wine a day.




Just beyond the base court was the clock court, which was surrounded by Henry's living quarters and the Royal Chapel. The clock not only tells time, but month, day, zodiac sign, moon phases and other things, and it is not digital! Inside, we learned much more about Henry and his six wives ("divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived"). We then headed out to the



gardens (most were closed to prepare for a car show) where we saw the Guinness-certified largest grape vine in the world bearing this year's crop. After lunch we took a quick tour of William's living area (we had toured Mary's yesterday at Kensington Palace), a large addition to the back of Hampton Court.



Finally, we took a boat down the Thames from Hampton Court back to Westminster. Along the way we had to pass through two locks, and saw everything from river mansions to small, non-seaworthy boats that looked like people's full time homes. There is no doubt that crew is a big sport here, as we passed by a dozen boat clubs, and a single, double or quad almost continuously until we got near London.

We finished the day with a nice meal at a local Italian place we found. Tomorrow Farley has to attend the CFA meetings, so Lynne is planning to head to Brighton Beach. Until next time, cheerio!






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Location:Westminster Bridge Road,London,United Kingdom