Third Day of Sight Seeing

Our final day in London was spent at Hampton Court Palace and Windsor Castle.  Hampton Court Palace was originally the house of Cardinal Thomas Wosley, but was later seized by King Henry VIII when Cardinal Wosley fell from his favor in 1529.  King Henry added on to it and then the palace was partially remodeled and added on to in the late 1600's by King William III.  Thus the palace has two very distinct architectural styles. 

At Hampton Court we saw a brief re-enactment of a dance from the Tutor court - Charlotte proclaimed the girl in red her favorite.  We toured the Tutor kitchens from Henry VIII's time and the state apartments of King William III.

Windsor Castle is the residence of the royal family and has been since the time of Henry I (1100s). The girls enjoyed seeing the dollhouse of Queen Mary on display there and James liked the collection of weapons displayed in one of the staterooms.  The highlight of the day was when Madeleine FINALLY found a stuffed unicorn in one of the gift shops there.  She had been searching for one for days and was getting very distraught that we might have to leave England without one.

We left directly from the Castle to head to the airport for our 11 hour flight to Johannesburg.  Unfortunately our flight leaving London was delayed and we missed our connection to Cape Town.  However, we were quickly put on the next flight and arrived this afternoon in Cape Town.  Tomorrow begins our adventures in South Africa!

Walking up to Hampton Court

Charlottes' favorite was the girl in red

A fountain that was used to serve wine at court

Henry VIII's great dining hall

It took 1 man 1 year to weave 1 yard of tapestry. They were very expensive. Henry VIII had around 800 of them. 

One of the fire pits in the kitchen of Henry VIII

One of the six fire pits used to roast meat in the kitchen

The wine cellar

some of the "new" construction of William III - the staircase leading up to his state rooms

Weapons used as decorations in one of William III's state rooms 

The gardens at Hampton Court

Windor Castle

View of Eaton College from Windsor

The chapel at Windsor

Guards marching

Notice the new unicorn ;-)

The town of Windor