Hampton Court, England

After our adventure of driving from the airport to Hampton Court, which we did without too much drama, we arrived at our first “attraction” outside of London. I felt like we were truly starting our honeymoon adventure as we arrived at Hampton Court, which is situated along the Thames River about 15 miles southwest from London, in Surrey.  We had a late lunch at this empty pub called Cardinal Wolseys where the owner was super friendly and even let us park our car there so we simply walked over to the palace.  

Outside the main gates at Hampton Court

I am in love with Tudor English history.  It all started with my mother's love for the same time period in history, she can tell you the order of the British Monarchs by memory! She's pretty impressive! Then, when I lived and studied in England for a year in college, I became more entranced by the stories and details of Henry VIII and all his wacky wives.  So, Hampton Court is one of those fairytale places where you can just imagine yourself living that courtly, regal lifestyle.  The place is immense and you can spend a whole day there, but we had a really fun time in the few hours that we explored the palace.

Inside one of the kitchen's many fireplaces...so huge!

The great part about Hampton Court is that they have worked really hard to make the historic bricks and mortar come to life.  For example, the kitchen was divided into many different rooms, each with its own purpose, and you get to touch and interact with the rooms…it’s not corded off.  They have placed props (like baskets of onions and meat rotisseries) in the kitchen area to help you understand what it would take to feed the 500 or so people living in a royal palace at the time of King Henry VII.  

Actors portrayed King Henry VII & Catherine (wife #6) on their wedding day.

The palace also employs a host of characters to reenact the wedding day of King Henry VII and his sixth wife Catherine Parr.  There was a processional and the King and Queen addressed their subjects (us). It was fun to see how they would use the large brick courtyards and rooms for stately affairs.  I would love to wear the clothes. So regal!   

Amazing clock from the 16th Century

Henry installed a clock at Hampton Court that still works to this day! It tells you the time, date, phases of the moon, and astronomical season.  It’s a pretty impressive piece of engineering. 

The gardens at Hampton Court

This is an amazing grapevine that is over 200 years old

We loved the gardens around the palace.  Everything was meticulously cared for and we power-walked as much of the place as we could. Most impressive was the “Great Vine” a Guinness Book record holding grapevine which is over 200 years old and still produces grapes. They make wine and jams from it that are sold in the gift shop, of course!   

What a gorgeous day! We loved being together at Hampton Court!