This week was cram week because I have a list of thing I want to do before I go home and realized there isn't much time left before Julie and Tina come! When they come we are going to do a lot, but just in case haha. On Monday I slept in and went shopping and finished up some papers.
On Tuesday, Mark and I went to Hampton Court. Hampton Court is where King Henry the VIII lived when he was King. The palace was huge and georgeous! We crashed into a tour group and went along with them for a bit. There was also the weding of King Henry to his sixth wife, Kateryn Parr. We saw them floating around the castle all day. We went though the kitchens and there were so many roooms for cooking! A bajillion people worked for the palace and everyone needed to be fed so it was necessary for all the rooms. Next we went thoughout the castle and we lost the tour guide and went on our own again. Inside the palace we got to see William III's apartments, Georgian Private Apartments, Mary II's apartments, and Henry VIII's apartments. A few of the apartments had beds, desks, tables, and lots of roomie things. Some of the apartments weren't furnished but they had paintings hanging up. The apartments were really pretty. There were a few exhibits that showed King Henry the XII's life and him growing up. There was another exhibit that talked about all of his six wives and why the first five didn't work out. Inside the palace walls were a fountain court/cloister. The chimneys were decorated and there were fire places in every room.
Outside were the Palace Gardens and there are a TON!! Once we got outside there was a carriage ride that took you around the great fountain garden to see some of the gardents. The trees look like mushrooms and are very giagantic! The wilderness is another part of the garden that is filled with lots of trees, bushes, flowers, and it was really pretty! There is a little maze that is also in the gardens and it was small and cute. Other sections surrounded the palace and they were all georgeous!
That night I saw Waiting for Godot featuring Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan (from X-Men). It was a play about two old folks waiting for Godot and while waiting, a crazy man and his worker. It was really interesting and the acting was great! It was very different from the movies I have seen them in. I loved it!
Wednesday was the adventure to Kew Gardens. Kew Gardens is in southern London. It is a huge park that is filled with lots and lots of trees and exhibits. First Mark and I took the Kew Explorer (shuttle) around the park first and then walked to the different parts of the park. We thenwent to the Palm house that had lots of palms trees from around the world. The next house was the Temperate House that had plants from all over the world. Downstairs were fishies from all over the world. Outside the Temperate house was a Evolution House that showed how we got to where we are today. The park had a treetop walkway went along the roof and it was sweet to walk along it and see the trees from the top. It was a lot of stairs to climb, but I did it! A japanese garden is in the park and a peacock was hanging there and it decided to spread its tail out. After we walked through a park of the park with HUGE trees and they were ancient. Everything was so green and almost blooming. We passed a waterlily pond filled with ducks and baby ducks. All over the park was different types of gardens and some were a bamboo garden, rhododendrom dell, magnolias, and all types of garden beds. The Princess of Wales Conservatory was a 10 zone climate center. Rainforrest, desert, dry, wet tropics, ferns, carnivorous plants, and more. It was really neat to see plants from around the world. Princess Diana helped set up this house. I reccomend it if anyone goes to London and enjoys plants.
That night, Colleen and I saw Sister Act, the musical and it was sooo fun. The music was upbeat and the show was very funny. Colleen and I went right before the show to see if they had any tickets left and they had the two in the last row on the top balcony. The view was still really good even though we were in the top of the theatre.
Thursday was the Study Abroad dinner and ride on the eye. It was free so why not. haha. It was good to hang out with the people I've got to know of the semester and then others I didn't really get to know. It was really fun and a good night out. We all went to trafalgar square to climb on the lions and take pictures, and since there were a bunch of us, they all pushed me and pulled me up!! It was great! I didn't climb on the lions because I was soo scared to fall, but it was still great!
Today was the adventure to Greenich. We walked though the Old Royal Naval College and found the prime meredian. It was really pretty out there with a small science exhibit and different things to see. It was interactive and the videos were really interesting about space. This weekend is the adventure to the Isle of Wight which is a few islands on the southern part of England.
Julie and Tina come next week and it will be fun! I go home in two weeks!
