London: Parks and Palaces, Part Three (and Rome!)

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, we headed out for our second day trip away from London, to Hampton Court Palace along the River Thames.

The palace was built in the first few decades of the 1500s by Henry VIII's minister Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, who later gifted it to Henry when he started to slip from the king's favor. It's pretty impressive!

The Tudor Rose with Elizabeth I's insignia and initials

We again used our London Passes (they came in REALLY handy- and we used the accompanying travel passes for all of our Tube and train rides too!) and got in to the palace...along with about twenty-three different groups of children. It was a little insane. We made a beeline for the Tudor apartments after realizing we wouldn't be able to see the kitchens in peace and ended up spending quite a while there. I was especially excited to see the so-called "Haunted Gallery," where Katherine Howard's ghost is said to roam. There were also multiple awesome portraits that I recognized, which I always find interesting. I also enjoyed the exhibit of the King's Privy Council. It featured videos of actors as some of Henry VIII's advisers discussing various issues of the day- the entire Tudor exhibit at Hampton Court is based around the idea that you're visiting on the day Henry marries his sixth and final wife, Katherine Parr, so they talk about that, the issue of the succession, and various other topics. The Great Hall was also very cool- the tapestries that hang there are one of the most valuable items in the royal collection.

Tudor rose ceiling decoration, surrounded by various badges/emblems

Victoria stained glass windows in the Great Hall (the originals were destroyed under Cromwell in the mid-1600s)

We then visited the Chapel Royal, which is really beautiful, of course, but has a very interesting ceiling- it's basically a deep blue background spangled with stars. We were also able to see the royal balcony and the King's private chapel.

Next we went into the Tudor kitchens, which are absolutely amazing. The audioguide (more about my opinions on audioguides in general later...) had a lot of interesting information on the types of food that were eaten at the Tudor court and how the kitchens were run in order to serve that vast group of people. They were massive!

A tall man could easily have stood in the fireplace. Except for the fire, of course :)

We also visited the Young Henry VIII exhibit that was in another wing of the palace. I again enjoyed the variety of paintings that I recognized, and I definitely thought it was well organized and presented in an interesting fashion- it seemed modern and appealing, but wasn't sort of...out there, like the Kensington Palace exhibit was.

Finally we went to the little cafe and had something to eat (I had mashed potatoes....) and then we went out into the gardens, which were absolutely beautiful. Everything was at least starting to bloom and the sun was shining- a wonderful day for a walk outside!

We also found our way through the Hampton Court maze, which is basically a labyrinth made of hedges- pretty cool! We didn't have much of a strategy (just kind of wandered through until we found the middle) but it worked out pretty well anyway. :)

We spent some time in the gift shop (surprisingly enough) and then walked along the river for a little while before heading back to London and getting dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I was really craving a burger!!!

The next morning we got up and had breakfast before heading to the Wellington Arch, stopping at Harrod's and Marks and Spencer's on the way for some scones and tortilla chips...which I had been missing in Rome after a semester full of chips and salsa in Madison. We had found out through the London Pass guidebook that you could go up in the arch, so we decided to see what the view was like- and it was great! We also got to see the Queen's guard ride past.

 After we were done at the arch, we headed over to the Banqueting House, which is the last remaining part of Whitehall Palace and the site of the execution of Charles I in the 1640s. It was really interesting to see but I definitely fell asleep during the informational film before we actually got to see the hall. Oh well. :)

Next we went over to the Household Cavalry Museum- the museum of the Queen's mounted guards, basically. It was really interesting to see the various uniforms and exhibits on battles in which they fought, and we also got to see the afternoon inspection.

It was pretty impressive! Sounds like it takes a lot to get ready for such a thing.

After we were done there, we headed off to one of the best parts of the entire trip: CHIPOTLE. As it's my favorite "fast food"-ish restaurant at home, I've really been missing burritos in Rome...so we took a little jaunt up Charing Cross Road to London's very own Chipotle. And it was glorious.

Once my Chipotle craving was satisfied, we went to the National Portrait Gallery, which I always think is fantastic. The Tudor gallery is especially well-stocked...not that I'm biased or anything! We grabbed some late food at a pub and then headed back to the hotel for some packing and sleep, and the next morning we flew back to Rome.

When in Rome, we packed up Mom's big red suitcase with a lot of my things...clothes, shoes, and especially books. We all know I'm a bibliophile, and it's no surprise that I may have put the bookstore Feltrinelli in the black for the entire year :) But that was slightly problematic in terms of suitcase weight, of course. We got dinner at Dar Poeta again and made plans to go to the Vatican the next day.

Early the next morning we headed up to St. Peter's, where we went through the tombs of the popes under the basilica and then toured the church itself.

Next we climbed up to the cupola of the basilica- it was kind of a hike, but definitely worth it for the view!

It was a little tight at times, especially in the space between the inner and outer domes.

Somewhere there were Swiss Guards laughing at us.

Looking out over St. Peter's Square

The diagonal, rectangular building in the front is the Sistine Chapel

After we were done at the store atop the cathedral and had mailed a couple of postcards there, we grabbed some lunch and walked down to the Colosseum, where we ended up touring the inside.

We got audioguides again. Blargh.

Mom was very focused on hers.

It was definitely cool to see the inside of the structure and to learn a little about the history, but the audioguide was basically useless (in my opinion) apart from its entertainment value...one gem was when the narrator described a spectacle of a wooden whale whose mouth was opened, and "OUT POURED FIFTY BEARS!!!" It was hilarious, and I laughed about it for about three weeks thereafter. :)
That night we got Mom all ready to head out the following morning and went to a restaurant called Le Fate for dinner. We got some fantastic bruschetta, and for a main course I had pork chops and Mom had pasta. After dinner, however, was an absolutely fantastic chocolate cake- and shots of grappa. Which I left to Mom, hahaha :) It was quite the thing.

The next morning I got Mom on the train to the airport and trudged home, already counting down the days till her next visit. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy spending time with my mother? :)

The trip to London and the few days we got to spend in Rome together were absolutely fantastic. I think London may be my favorite city in Europe, especially because I love the history so much but also because I like the vibe and the variety of culture there. The variety of food isn't too shabby either! I think we got to do most of the things we wanted to do, and the London Pass ended up being a great resource, both in terms of ideas of new places to go/new things to see and in terms of convenience! We rarely had lines to wait in and everything was already prepaid- we just had to show our card (or have it swiped) and we were all set. We also got free audioguides in some places with the pass. I personally could really go without the guides. It's always nice to have the information, but I tend to prefer just reading it and moving along at my own pace instead of waiting for the narrator to be done talking before moving on. I do, however, recognize that it's definitely a great way to learn more about what you're seeing without having to have a real guide there or doing a lot of prior research. I guess you can take it or leave it...it really depends on your style of museum-/site-visiting, and they just don't hold my interest enough to override the sense of annoyance I glean from them. Ohh audioguides. But that's the end of that rant :) London is wonderful- I'm glad we got to spend so much time there and see so many wonderful things!