HENRY'S HANGOUT

 On September 7th, 2007 we left for Hampton Court, the palace Henry VIII stole from Cardinal Wolsey when he saw how nice it was. It is an amazing place...huge is the best way to describe it. This is where he was when he decided to get rid of Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn.

The king's chambers are on one side of the castle and the queen's on the other. For me the most fascinating part of the castle was the kitchens. Each type of food has its own large room and , of course, they each have a fireplace for cooking. There were quite a number of people for whom the cooks had to prepare meals each day.


This is a mural which runs along a staircase going to living quarters. We wandered all around the upstairs and found out later that we weren't supposed to be there. Glad no one noticed because I would hate to be locked up in one of their dungeons.


Just had to show you the public toilets even though these are not at Hampton Court. Beats the hell out of our Port-a-potties, right?!

We drove through lovely parks where we saw beautiful pheasants and  hart (deer) with enormous racks, after which we went to a small pastry cafe called "Maids of Honor" after Anne Boleyn's maids of honor. Henry VIII liked them so much that he ordered them to keep the pastry recipe secret just for him and his court. 

That evening we went to the "Proms" which are held in Prince Albert Hall in London. What an imposing edifice that is! We had great seats from which we could watch the Boston Symphony Orchestra (they were guesting) play some of the most popular classical music. There is a large area downstairs called "the pit" where people who have paid only five pounds stand to hear the concerts. 

Before the concert starts you can place an order for drinks which you can pick up during intermission. At that time you go into the bar and your order is up on a shelf with your name on the receipt. My son-in-law had arranged for us to have champagne but he couldn't find his order until he came upon four people pouring glasses from a bottle with his name on it. They had ordered a split and when he saw them with his bottle he said, "Did you think you got a free upgrade?". They were mortified but we got our champagne and had a wonderful evening. 

That's it for now.  Enjoy


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