Leeds Castle

Yes, it's yet another castle... like I said, this has become my travel journal. So no eye rolling, don't read it if you're bored of castles!

While E's sister was visiting for the month of August, we did some local touring. One Saturday we ventured towards Leeds Castle, down south east of London. After waaaaay too long sitting in London traffic, we finally made it. The grounds and exterior of the castle are amazing... but the interior is a little bit like Henry VIII meets my Grandmother. It's been redecorated a few too many times if you ask me, and has a bit of a 1950s flair to it at the moment. Very interesting.

It was built in the 11oos, and became a royal palace for for King Edward I in the 1200s. It's most famous residents were King Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon, who he divorced because she only birthed a girl. (He had to change the official religion of England from Catholicsm to allow this... it's good to be king.) Then he married his second wife who he eventually beheaded because she too only produced a girl. (Insert me singing the Henry VIII, I am song here...)

Then his daughter by his second wife, later Queen Elizabeth I, was imprisoned here while her big sister was king. See, good old King Henry had a little problem with succession... he could only produce girls and sickly boys. And even they all had different mothers. Ahem... there was a little beheading and divorcing going on. Anyway, when his only son died very young, his eldest daughter Mary took the throne. But she was Catholic... very Catholic, and there was dissension. So when she died of stomach cancer, again without managing to produce an heir of her own, her little (Protestant) sister Elizabeth took the throne. And also managed to die without producing an heir. So the throne of England went to a cousin, James who just happened to be the son of Mary Queen of Scots and the King of Scotland... thus uniting the thrones of England and Scotland for the first time. But I digress from the castle at hand. We visited Mary Queen of Scots when were up in Edinburgh a few weeks later... so you'll hear more then. Or feel free to ignore. Back to Leeds.

Me and little guy with the castle in the back.

Daddy and big man.

Little e looking adorable in his Aunt's hat.

There was a big person's hedge maze that E and EJ went through. The boys and I stuck to the little person's dirt maze and had just as much fun.

One cool dude... with one little dude running like a mad man behind him!

N and e in the courtyard of the castle.

The castle is actually built on two different islands with a moat running around, and in between the two buildings. Very cool, and I would imagine, very hard to attack. And yes, there is a picture of my belly for all of you who have been asking. I'd like to say it's still that small, but these were taken about a month ago... so you'll just have to imagine!

Little e with the world's largest leaves. I just thought the size difference was funny! Like I said, the grounds were amazing! There were gardens, playgrounds, the mazes... and oh yeah, the moats which provided beautiful picture taking opportunities. There was even a wedding couple there getting their pictures done. They couldn't have picked a better backdrop!