Hampton Court + afternoon tea

Good morning!

To start off the week, we met in the morning at Waterloo train station to make our way to Hampton Court Palace. Everyone was a little groggy after a busy weekend, but coffee and bagels seemed to do the trick to energize!

Our tour guide for the morning, Britt's bff Sarah

We toured Hampton Court Palace, a palace that traded hands from Cardinal Wosley to King Henry VII- two key players in our book for tomorrow's lecture, "A Man for All Seasons". The style of the estate is torn between Tudor and Baroque because of renovations as ownership and favored styles changed.

Hampton Court Palace

Ethan IS King Henry VIII

The gardens were beautiful (and the pretty day didn't hurt either!). We were mesmerized by swimming swans and enjoyed a leafy tunnel.

After I took the picture, Mal said, "Oh, did you want me to pose?"

Perry, Alison, Mal, Christina, Kelsey, and Emma in the gardens


Charlotte in a vine cubbyhole in the gardens

Fact: Charlotte and Kelsey like swans (and were the only ones brave enough to get close!)

At the edge of the estate, there was a maze. Although Sarah, the tour guide, said it normally takes people twenty minutes to complete, we thought it would definitely take us longer! Despite a few dead ends, a little frustration, and lots of laughs, we all made it through... with plenty of time to spare! After the maze, we stopped at a local pub for lunch.

Perry and Ethan, my trusty leaders in the maze

Emily and Muriel at lunch near Hampton Court Palace

Ethan's weapon of choice against bees: his shoe

The train ride back was quite eventful for a small group of us: Mike had noticed a woman fall near the busy road and stopped to help her. She was not feeling well and was left unable to get back to her house. We tried calling for a taxi on various phones but were unsuccessful. A biker stopped to help, and got a hold of a car service to help the woman... the service came shortly after and the woman was on her way back to her house.

At this point, we were 4 minutes away from missing the train (which would make us wait another half hour for the next one). Determined to make it in time, we took off sprinting for the train. Of course, due to our sheer speed, we made it!

Alison, Perry, and Christina were weary travelers

This afternoon, Charlotte, Emily, and I decided to upgrade from our college lives and student budgets and splurge on a fine English tradition: afternoon tea. Emily found a very fancy looking hotel and booked reservations. We were quite pleased with ourselves and enjoyed a nice leisurely meal to the delightful tunes of a piano and in the company of elegant patrons.

Myself, Emily, and Charlotte outside our spot for afternoon tea, Brown's Hotel

Our ultra-posh glasses of champagne!

The tower of treats: sandwiches, scones, and sweets

The experience included a glass of champagne, each person's choice of tea, assorted sandwiches (Charlotte and I were fans of the salmon), scones complete with cream and jam, and sweets (Emily enjoyed the chocolate macaroon). We had a very nice Italian waiter who professed his love of California to us and kept our tower filled with food items. It was such a relaxing afternoon, and we left happy, full, and very sophisticated :)

The tea aftermath... a very successful affair!