London: Day 2

This morning we ate our first breakfast at our bed and breakfast. Breakfast consisted of an egg, bacon (which is actually more like ham), and beans. Yes. Beans. They're similar to the baked beans we eat in the states, except they're sweeter. 

After breakfast we walked to The Underground and took the subway to a train station. At the train station we jumped on a train that took us to Hampton Court. 

Train Station to Hampton Court

Walking up to Hampton Court

Hampton Court

Cartoon Gallery inside Hampton Court

                           
                           

Hampton Court is a castle where many kings and queens lived throughout history. King Henry VIII lived there. In case you don't know your English history, King Henry VIII was the infamous king who had six wives throughout his lifetime, most of which he ended up divorcing or executing. Perhaps the most famous of these executed wives was Anne Boleyn. King Henry VIII also happens to be one of my favorite kings from English history. 

Giant Painting of King Henry VIII

In middle school, because I was obsessed with England, my parents bought me a book titled Kings and Queens of England: A Dark History 1066-Present Day. I read the whole thing in two days and ever since then, I've been enthralled with the story of King Henry VIII and his six wives. As you can imagine, I was stoked to visit one of the places where these people lived. 

There were actors dressed up as King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, and other court people walking around the castle. They also put on a small skit and took us through part of the castle.

Actor dressed up as King Henry VIII

The gardens at Hampton Court are beautiful. I commented that the flowers here in England make the flowers back home look like nothing. Everything is so well kept. And of course everything here gets watered well. It has rained at least once every single day that we've been here. It's a good thing I like rain. 

Hampton Court Gardens

Courtyard at Hampton Court

Hampton Court Gardens

Hampton Court Gardens

One of the gardens at Hampton Court had a maze made out of shrubbery. Laura and I went through and made it to the center only to get caught in a downpour. By the time we made it back into Hampton Court, we were soaked. 

Inside the maze

During the downpour

After we left Hampton Court we went to a pizza place close by called Pizza Express. It was exceptional pizza. Here in England a pepperoni pizza is called an American Pizza and cheese pizza is called Margherita Pizza. 

We finished the evening by spending some time going through some shops, walking through Chinatown, and visiting M&M World.

M&M World

Michaela