I’ve been to Hampton Court, on the outskirts of London, twice in the last month. First, to see Henry VIII’s palace, where actors play out the day of Henry’s last marriage, which was to Catherine Parr. We got to wear robes as though we were members of the royal court and witnessed the many secrets hidden by the palace walls. It reminded me of going to Colonial Williamsburg as a child, but I continue to enjoy playing pretend as a quasi-adult.
Also, historical re-enactments always make me wonder how our society will be portrayed in 300 or so years. How will our generation be presented many years from now? Any ideas? I guess all the actors will have to check their computers/iPods/iPhones/Blackberries often, for starters.
The palace looking particularly ominous
Idyllic gardens, even on a yucky day
More perfectly-manicured gardens
Henry and Catherine
Another day, another English maze solved
Today, we went to Hampton Court for the Foodies Festival. I don’t suppose further description is really necessary, but I would like to add that the weather was gorgeous for an outdoor festival and an impromptu picnic/photoshoot.
Pig pickin', Portuguese style
Picnic, London style
Pork (with fennel and rosemary) + rocket + homemade applesauce + ciabatta
Eaten in five minutes flat
Followed by a garden jaunt
And some laying-in-the-grass-taking-photos
Sheer bliss. I have a whole lot of updating to do about how I’ve spent my last few days, but I’m headed to Oxford tomorrow and must mentally prepare for the giddiness I’ll experience when I see places where Harry Potter was filmed.
I’ve been to Oxford…loved it. Such old, old buildings and you can feel the knowledge permeating all around you. Again, you are a lucky girl and I’m envious of the rhubarb dessert you made. I used to make a strawberry rhubarb pie but it’s hard to find rhubarb here. (We used to grow it in New Paltz.)
I loved it, too! Primarily for the Harry Potter sets
These two days were indeed exquisite. the discovery of pork with apple sauce just rocked my world!!
And you know that because of natural catastrophes and pollution, etc, no one will be here in 300 years to explain how our generation and the one before that just screwed everyone’s future up!! (i like to be optimistic!!)
Haha. I was kind of expecting that response from you