Hampton Court

This was just one of those days. I was really looking forward to going to Hampton Court. I'd been there before, and remember really liking it, so I was excited to go back and take the boys. But it just wasn't happening this day. I think we were all a little tired of touring, we were out of food e could eat in the packed-three-days-ago picnic food that I was also sick of, and all C wanted to do all day was eat. So to sum up, we had hungry C, hungry e, and probably most dangerous... hungry mom. Recipie for disaster. And to top it off, it was a little chilly out, so the indoor cafes were packed. So much so that there was no way I was going to be able to find a spot to sit in there and enjoy a scone while feeding the baby.

So I spent the majority of my day in the "nursing room" which was nothing more than a folding chair in the corner of the non-heated, windowless bathroom, right next to the rubbish bin where everyone was throwing their babies' dirty diapers. Fantastic. The worst part about it was that everyone else seemed to think that it was great that they even had a "nursing room." Again, a folding chair in the corner of a bathroom is not a nursing room. But I digress.

While I was feeding the baby, or trying to find dairy-free food for e, everyone else was off touring the beautiful palace. Here is the little bit of the Tudor kitchens that I saw. Good cooking boys! Keep it up!

Hampton Court is a palace with a split personality. It was built in the 1500s, for Cardinal Wosley a favorite of King Henry VIII's... eventually he fell out of favor, and the king took it for himself. So part of the palace has a distinctly Tudor feel. Then King and Queen William and Mary took it upon themselves to give the palace a major baroque renovation about a hundred years later. Unfortunately they ran out of money about half way through their project leaving a palace that is "Baroque-Tudor." Get it, broke-Tudor. Ha, ha. OK, I stole the joke anyway. Here Grandma and e look out on the 17th century courtyard.

The boys enjoyed the hedge maze on the property, eventually finding the middle.

They also followed around costumed characters reinacting King Henry VIII's wedding day with his sixth wife. I hear there is a great picture of e with King Henry, but we don't seem to have it on our camera. So if you do have it (hint, hint Grandpa) I'd really like a copy! I'm especially bummed I missed this, because I really enjoyed the little bit I heard. But I didn't think Henry would appreciate the screaming baby at his wedding celebration (off with his head!)

Evantually, after feeding C for the fourth time... he seemed satisfied and we were able to walk around the gardens for a bit. They are beautiful and quite intricate!

It's too bad we were still too early in the season to see any flowers, but we did get to see this massive 230 year old grape vine. Very impressive!

Yup, we made it. Three major London tourist attractions in three days, with three little boys. We were tired out, but for the most part, it was a good trip!