Ahhhh...the weekend...a bit of I'm Henry the 8th I am

Apology to Herman's Hermit....they had a 60's song called just that.

Well another warm sunny weekend and plenty to do.. Becky (Evan's partner) took over guiding duty. So off we went to the countryside..Hampton Palace or Court (I'm not sure), just been reliably informed it is called Hampton Court Palace, so there you have it.. Anyway trained to Kingston, then bused to one of the gates. What a magnificent palace this is.
Time for  a week bit of history.... Hampton was built for Cardinal Wolsey (he was a solid churchman). When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the King's almoner and when Henry wanted to dissolve his first marriage (Catherine of Aragon) Wolsey went to Rome to do his bidding. To no avail, so Henry was a little pissed at Wolsey. To get back into the good books Wolsey gave Hampton Court Palace to Henry..now ends the Tudor history lesson.

Well we went on a number of self guided walking tours.Visited Henry's kitchens (notice plural) which included his liquor cellar, the chapel (which is still used) and numerous state apartments; Henry's Catherines, William III's (who undertook a massive rebuilding and expansion programme which was intended to rival Versailles (the French were the trend setters of the day).
Following William (of Orange-he was Dutch) came George II (German).....what a mixed up, muddled up world the rich and famous  had.
Got to see the oldest grape vine in the world...planted sometime in the 1700's.

Hopefully a few of the photo's below will give more information.

The one of at least 3 kitchens...busy preparing meals for around 200 people per day

The Great hall, where the King ate on odd occasions. Used mainly by the staff to eat at.

One of the court yards with the King's or Queen's apartments up above.

Here is the oldest grape (not the old fella), the grape vine behind..









The privy garden (for the royal family's use only).

Looking back at William III's apartments.

After a long day learning English history we stopped at nice pizza place beside the Thames...great and enjoyable day.

Sunday, Mr Ohh Lala's birthday, Becky had booked us in for brunch at a restaurant in SoHo. A very nice way to celebrate Evan's big day. This was followed by a little light shopping around the area before returning to base. Rangi got messages from Brad Stallion and satins helper (brother and sister),  great to hear from them.

We went for a walk along the Thames (down to the beginning of Battersby park while Becky baked the birthday cake.

Looking east with the London eye in the background.

      A view of the Thames...great day, very sunny and warm.

So that was our first weekend in London.
Tomorrow, we are on our own..Evan and Beck are back to work.

Will probably go to Kew gardens tomorrow. The wether forecast is most promising.