A few days ago we visited Hampton Court Palace (http://www.englishmonarchs.co.uk/hampton_court_palace.html) . This palace dates back to the Tudor reign of Henry VIII in the 1500's. It's an interesting place for a couple of reasons. The palace was in continuous use as a royal court for hundreds of years, and then abandoned as a residence by George III in the 1800's. It's been restored to show two distinct periods of history: the Tudor period of Henry VIII and the late 1700's of the Glorious Georges -- George I, II, and III. So some of the pictures we took are of the really old Tudor palace and some reflect a style about 200 years later. The palace also is restored to teach history and costumed actors play the parts of Henry VIII and court ladies and gentlemen. We viewed banqueting halls, reception rooms and bedrooms. One interesting part of the palace was Henry VIII's kitchens, a suite of rooms that prepared meals for over 600 people every day over open fires and in ovens heated by wood fires. That must have been a very busy place! We also saw George II's chocolate kitchen. George II loved and drank a cup of hot chocolate every day prepared by his chocolate chef in a special kitchen. Because chocolate was so expensive at the time, this was a real piece of luxury that he also used to show every one else how fabulously wealthy he was. The royal chocolate maker was also a very wealthy man due to his status and job.

The gardens at Hampton Court Palace are world famous . They are magnificent as you can see from the pictures. There is a maze that we wandered through for a while, finally exiting before finding the center. Currently, there is a flower show at Hampton Court gardens and the gardens are used throughout the summer for special exhibitions. We enjoyed seeing Hampton Court palace and learning about the people who had lived there.