Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Hampton Court Palace - wow!


Today, Josh and I went the touristy route and decided to go the Henry the VIII's palace Hampton Court. I have to say it was amazing!

Josh and I went to the Biltmore House in North Carolina in November 2006 (also amazing! You should go.). There were parts of each of these grand homes that were similar but the fact of the sheer AGE of the palace knocks the Biltmore out of the water! This palace got its beginings not long after "Colombus sailed the ocean blue"! To give you a comparsion the Biltmore has 250 rooms while Hampton Court has over 1000. The incredible architectural detail, the carved stone, the carved wood, the gold leafing, the grand scale of every room - it was truly a place fit for royalty. Also odd about it was the architecture...it started out in Tudor styling then as other royalty lived there and built on the sytles changed (baroque) so in the courtyard there is a vast contrast in the type of architecture. But there are all sorts of stories on why there was no architectural continuity and I won't elaborate here - Skype me if you are interested. :)

You can learn more about the historical significance of the Hampton Court palace here.

One of the most impressive parts of the palace was the gardens....gardens on three sides including fields of flowers (currently daffodils), shaped trees and shrubery, water features, arbors, etc! One of the most amusing parts of the garden was the 300 year old garden maze - yes, like you have seen in movies (think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). Josh and I got lost in there for a few minutes which was fun! We then explored the acres and acres of finely manicured gardens. Being springtime it was absolutely breaktaking - the colors and variety of flowers were impressive.

Well, I will let the pictures tell you the rest. Hampton Court Pics

Tomorrow, Josh and I are off to Bath (pronounce it like you are saying "moth" but with a "b"). Although, I was told today that Northerners (in England) actually do say Bath like a we say it - like a tub of water. haha!

2 comments:

  1. No wonder the trees were so manicured! ROYALTY! (Wonder how they do that?) I had commented to Josh about them in an earlier email from the picture he had sent. All the pictures are "Breaktaking" as you stated! :) What a way to spend a break! The pictures are too pretty to be real! It's like a dream....an awesome dream! Keep on Enjoying!!!! Love and hugs~ Kathy

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  2. Beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing.... love and hugs

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