The Eighth Day: Waterloo Train Station and Hampton Court Palace

I've never taken the train before in my life, but that was rectified today. Today we planned to visit Hampton Court Palace which was the home of Henry VIII, who was a chauvinistic pig I might add, and to get there we took the train! We met at Waterloo Train Station, which is where some scenes in the Bourne movies were filmed, and milled around there for a bit. We just barely made our train, but fortunately we all ran to the platform and made it on right before the doors closed. It took about 40 minutes to get to Hampton Court and it was nice to just sit and watch the city and the outer boroughs go by.




The palace was the residence favored by Henry VIII and is located along the upper banks of the Thames in Hampton Court. Unlike the Thames in the city, though, you can actually see to the bottom rather than the murky nasty that flows through London. The palace is literally right across the bridge from the station, so it was a quick walk. From the front entrance, it seems kind of small, but it's anything but. It boasts over 60 acres of private gardens and an extensive set of apartments for the six, yes six, wives that Henry had at one point or another. We looked around the palace for a bit, but the gardens were too pretty.

English gardens are supposed to be the most extensive and well kept gardens ever, and I believe it. There were fountains, hedge mazes, private walks, and a lot of other things that made it absolutely gorgeous. We lucked out and had a sunny day, too, so we thought it was best spent outside. We walked all around and just generally enjoyed the day; it was simple, but much needed.






After that we paroozed around the town of Hampton Court for a bit and then caught the train back home. We were going to go to Kensington Gardens again and make use of the weather, but the weather turned on us. It's honestly spiting us. We forget an umbrella? It rains. We wear a coat because it looks freezing out? The clouds go away and its 75 for a few hours. I can't wait to come home to 80 degrees and sunshine, this much is for sure.

The rest of our day was relatively uneventful. We saw a play tonight at The Young Victoria Theatre which was good, albeit sad. It was called Eurydice and is based off of a Greek myth about a girl, Eurydice, who dies and goes to the underworld, only to have her husband, Orpheus, try and save her. The set was very minimalist: it was a black square stage with four walk ways to each corner and the only effects included were the lighting (obviously) and then the use of water when it rained in the Underworld. There were only a handful of props used, too, so you really had to focus on the story line, but you also appreciated the acting that much more. Out of all the plays we've seen thus far, I liked this the best, but I know that's going to be blown out of the water tomorrow when I see...

The Lion King! If you've never seen it, look past the fact that it's a Disney movie and Google it. The costumes are amazing, and Amanda and I are very very excited to see it tomorrow. Almost as excited as we are to see Platform 9 3/4 tomorrow morning... :D

And here's a picture of the London Eye at night just for your enjoyment!