Hampton Court Palace

I took a day trip to Hampton Court Palace on Friday with two of my friends.  The palace is in Surrey, which was about an hour long train ride from central London.  It is still technically in "Greater London," but it is not in the "City of London."  It is located right on the River Thames and is absolutely gorgeous, especially on such a sunny day.  The palace was originally built in the Tudor period under Henry VIII in the 1500s.  Then, in the late 1600s, William III and Queen Mary II decided to knock down Henry VIII's Tudor style palace and to rebuild it in the baroque style.  After starting this project however, they ran into several problems.  Part of the palace fell down during the hasty construction process, killing several workers.  Queen Mary II also became ill with smallpox, and died soon after.  Because of this, the project was halted as there was not enough money left to continue.  As a result, the palace is today a hodge-podge of two different styles. 

The front of the palace

the artwork on the walls and the celing is incredible

The queen's bedchamber... this was actually for show.  She slept somewhere else and then moved to this bed in the morning

The guard's room.  All of those geometric designs are made of weapons.

Hanging out with Shae and James in the garden. 

River Thames

This is in the gardens behind the palace.  See the swan in the fountain pool?  Did you know that all of the swans in England are owned by the Queen, and it is a crime to kill them?

I think these trees look silly :)