London 2.0 (Day 9!)

Day two of London was another early start. We decided the day before what we would want to do on the Friday, and decided we still wanted to go back to London because one day wasn’t enough!

The first thing on the agenda was going to Hampton Court, the number one place I wanted to see! Well actually, there was so much I wanted to see but Hampton Court was a favourite. It is what used to be the home (more like a palace) of Henry VIII, my most favourite historical figure! You know, the guy who had six wives. The guy who beheaded Anne Boleyn. Anne Boleyn would have lived in Hampton Court too, for part of her life. Until she was sentenced to death for treason and sent down the Thames to the Tower of London- been there, done that! I was so excited to see it! I would be standing in the vicinity of the real, actual Henry VIII. So pumped.

The gang (Myself, Mom, Madison, John and Dot) hopped on a bus and a train and eventually met Uncle Bill to all head to Hampton Court on another train. Arriving at the station I couldn’t yet see Hampton Court, but down the road and over a bridge on the Thames you could finally see it in the distance. It was nestled down the river a bit and going through the main gate (ahhh!) we could see the long road down to the front gate and draw bridge. Although it is not all original, most of the renovations and rebuilds were still historical, so I was in heaven. Viewing a site many had seen before as they arrived to Hampton Court, I was excited to be seeing the glory and splendor just like others have for hundreds of years.

We took a pit stop to the left in the ticket office/gift shop before we got to the main gates. The admission was pretty pricey, so we passed on that and bought a few trinkets before heading over to walk through some of the many, many gardens. We took pictures at the front gate but could go no further without tickets. Just standing on the bridge was incredible! I believe what is now grass used to be a moat. So many had come across the bridge on foot or by horse. Now it was me standing there!

After lots of pictures we headed into some of the gardens (the free ones… most of them cost admission!) which were beautiful. The weather that day was rainy and cold, but the landscape remained beautiful despite the overcast. Pretty early on we stopped in the Tiltyard Café for tea and coffee. The tiltyard, which the café was named after, was where jousting took place. After refreshing ourselves with caffeine and cookies, we were back out for more looks into the gardens. We walked around for a while, and finally made it to the back of Hampton Court where you could see the Fountain Garden and the rear of the actual building. More pictures here, with my imagination of who would have walked here going wild, and we decided to head off to London.

We grabbed the train back through Waterloo station and finally to Charring Cross station. It was the station we had first arrived at on day one in London, where everything is measured from. Instead of going right to the Strand, we went left which took us to Trafalgar Square. A sight I had seen in so many movies and pictures was now real! The weather was pretty crappy, and continued to rain for the rest of the day. So, we walked through the square and snapped some pictures but moved on; there was no room for lingering when we were all getting damper by the minute!

Just off Trafalgar Square we entered into the Mall, the long road up to Buckingham Palace. It is where streets fill to the brim and overflow to the parks on such occasions as Jubilees and Will and Kate’s wedding (: It was kept very clean and trimmed- the road is in the center but there are large walk ways lined with trees on either side of the road. To the left was a large park. I’m forgetting the name of this park right now but I’ll remember eventually.

Up the Mall we went, and just before Buckingham Palace we turned right and passed by Clarence House, where Charles and Camilla live and where the Queen Mum and Princess Diana once stayed. The guards were not on duty in their box posts, so no pictures of them, but it was cool to see such a grand house beside a beautiful park. We also passed where the Prime Minister lives, Downing Street number 10.

Empty!

Buckingham Palace was next! We took lots of pictures here (such tourists). I saw at the front the balcony where so many have stood waving to the crowds. And for me, it was the place where William and Kate gave each other two kisses after their wedding ceremony, rather than the traditional one! The reality of being there where it all happens was immense. It was hard to believe at times I was really in the country that I learn about all the time, my major being history and my area of interest being British Isles.

Our route took us next to Big Ben and the Parliament Buildings. Big Ben was pretty cool to see, being such a recognizable landmark. In behind some trees next to the Parliament Buildings was Westminster Abbey, which would have been amazing to go in, but we didn’t walk the loop around to it because everyone’s minds were on lunch and we didn’t want to be out in the rain much longer. At this point my boots were sloshing around inside with all the water in them. It was quite uncomfortable, let me tell you!

John and Bill were taking us on sort of a loop, which included everything we saw so far after Hampton Court. It would circle back around to near Charring Cross station and get us to our lunch destination: The Sherlock Holmes! First, we passed by the Horse’s Guard Parade, where the guard sat upon horses in their full uniforms. Pretty cool! I felt bad for the horses though, whose heads were being splattered with rain as they stood there. More pictures, and on we went!

John found our pub, luckily remembering where it was (yay!) and we all tracked in, soaking wet and freezing! It was like arriving at Heaven’s gates. John wanted us to come here because upstairs in the restaurant, there is a whole room that is made to look like Sherlock Holmes’ study complete with chemical vials, houndstooth cape, letters, a bear skin rug, bullet holes in the wall and a wax model with a bullet hole in the head. It was so awesome! We waited for a table, sitting down for a moment on the terrace where they had heat lamps. My feet were so wet and I couldn’t take it anymore, so I took off my boots and rung out my socks… and water actually came pouring out. Boo! We got our table shortly and sat just around the corner from the recreation study. After we ate, we went over to take some pictures of it. Did I mention how cool it was?

For lunch we all had drinks and for food I had the Ploughman’s Lunch, which was a variety of everything. Honey baked ham, amazing cheddar cheese, a roll with butter, pickle, pickled onion, and salad. I ordered a side of chips as well, because you know me! Delicious and satisfying, lunch took a couple of hours and we took advantage of this time to warm up once our bellies were full. As soon as the food had come, all talking ceased and it was silent as we munched. Once we were filling up and sipping our drinks, everyone’s cheeks become much rosier! We finished up and had a look into Holmes’ study, and then left the restaurant. I’d definitely go back, and to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese from the day before!

Everyone decided they were done for the day and we went to the station to get a train back to Croydon- tea and jammies were a unanimous decision. We said goodbye to Uncle Bill and boarded our train that would take us to London Bridge Station where we would stop over, but as we got on and were ready to leave when the intercom announced that due to a security issue, London Bridge was shutting down. Instantly, the sea of people on that train got off, along with us, and stood in front of the big screens that would announce the platform of the next train to Victoria Station. John was sure most of the people would head to Victoria instead, so we decided to get a train to Hayes, go around and get the tram to Croydon. The platform was announced and we, along with more people, boarded and waited. So finally, we got to the tram station, and guess what! The trams weren’t running, so plan B was over. On to plan C, where we hopped two buses that eventually took us into Croydon.

It was another long day, this time mostly wet, and when we all got in there was relief. I took a hot shower just to warm my two ice block feet and then had tea. We all sat downstairs and I uploaded some more pictures from London, and we looked at old photos and heard some war stories of my Uncle John, Bill’s brother. John our host showed us one of the coolest objects I’ve ever seen. It was a fork, snatched by Uncle John during a raid on a group of German soldiers in WWII, just as they were going to sit down for a meal. The fork has a German insignia engraved onto it- an eagle and a swastika. It was actually in a German camp, used by German soldiers in the war! And I got to hold and see it. That was quite memorable. Plus, the stories that we heard of what Uncle John went through were both horrifying and incredible.

I called it a night soon after, but the day had been another great one. It was amazing to experience London with my family who could give us anecdotes, making it all seem more personal. I thank them all so much for what they did for us during our stay in England! I’ll never forget it!

I have a bit more to write about, but everything touristy is over. Saturday was a family lunch, which was wonderful! I plan on blogging about it but this is mostly for my personal memory. Our trip, until this point, was a whirlwind! We did so much, and I learned so much, and I am so beyond thankful we went on this trip. I will now tell stories to my family in the future about my first trip to Scotland and England. It will become an incredible memory.