A Day Out to Hampton Court Palace

In the 16th century, King Henry VIII became the first royal to inhabit Hampton Court Palace. Whilst there, he lost his heart to many a beautiful lady-in-waiting. Yesterday, we too, lost our hearts within its walls - but to its beauty, its magnificence and splendour.

To merely describe Hampton Court as 'beautiful' seems to underrate it somewhat. To me, the word that comes to mind when I look at these photos again is... breathtaking.

Perhaps it was the nice weather we were having. Everyone was in a buoyant mood & happy to exchange their wintery togs for 'warm-enough' sweaters and cardigans. Thank God for the beautiful weather that aided our visit to the palace!

Hopped onto a surface train non-stop from Clapham Junction to Hampton Court. The former train station is dubbed 'Britain's busiest train station'. Hmmm, not sure how true this is but I guess signs don't lie?...

Arrived at Hampton Court in 30 minutes. Then, it was another 5 min walk to the palace but along the way, crossed a bridge with the most picturesque scenary. Pity our 'lao pok' but nonetheless trusty Canon is not equipped to capture the idyllic scenary as I saw it. And I'm not an adept photographer either... Oh well, here's a peek anyhew...There were geese and ducks swimming in the river.

There are 6 tours to uncover at Hampton Court but shan't bore with the nitty-gritties. Just to say that the time spent there was definitely well worth the while. Dee and I intentionally chose this weekend to visit the palace as every 1st week of the month, there are 'live' food demos on medieval cooking. Hampton Court is famous for its prolific Tudor Kitchen which saw kitchen staff preparing meals for up to 1,200 people on a daily basis! Imagine that!

Having been to the Tower of London, I must say of the two, I prefer this one. The tours at Hampton Court were made all the more interesting with performances by medieval minstrals and costumed characters depicting different personalities from King Henry VIII's court. Got to hear what medieval music could've been like and that was definitely a highlight for me and Danielle. In fact, she enjoyed the music so much, she was rooted to the ground! But I think the best part about visiting such places of interest is that there are audio aids which give excellent commentary that reveal the history, the personalities and the mysteries surrounding the palace.

We spent a good 6 hours at the Palace and still didn't have time to cover everything! Will definitely go back again to cover Worsley's Chambers and the must-see Hampton Court Palace Gardens and Maze.

Thank heavens we bought membership for 'The Historical Palace' Tours! We need it! :)