sidebar: Hampton Court Palace

After our class trip to the British Library, a friend and I traveled out to Hampton Court Palace for the afternoon.  It's about a half-hour train ride out of central London, and what a change from the city in such a short distance.  Built on the Thames riverbank, it was one of Henry VIII's favorite places.  Over time, the palace was expanded and rebuilt, until work stopped in 1694, leaving an unfinished structure of two distinct styles.  And oh, the chimneys.  There are so many of them, and each one has a different design.  Hampton Court also has a maze, which I'm happy to say we successfully navigated (see, I do have a good sense of direction!), tennis courts, and beautiful, expansive gardens.  I think my favorite part was the chapel.  It was so spectacular, and breathtaking.  We could only go in at the balcony, as the organ was being cleaned and tuned, but that was all that was needed.  What a truly amazing place, and as I walked through the rooms I imagined Henry VIII and his court spending their time in these walls, going about their business - and I felt very lucky to have been able to come here.