Hampton Court Palace

This is Hampton Court Palace. Henry VIII's summer home. It was built in the 1500's by Cardinal Wolsey. Cardinal Wolsey was Henry's right hand man and was rich beyond measure. When Henry wanted a annulment/divorce from Katherine DeAragon to marry Anne Boleyn, he asked Cardinal Wolsey to arrange it with the Pope. When he was not able to do it, he offered Henry his summer home, which Henry promptly accepted. In the end, Wolsey was accused of treason and died on the way into London for trial.

Us at Hampton Court

Beautiful and unusual decoration on a side entrance.

These gargoyle like statues line the immediate entrance to Hampton Court. They set up so high so that if you are on a horse or traveling by carriage, you could be more intimidated by them as they would be just above level.

This the 1700's addition that was added by William and Mary who were said to be very much in love with each other.

This garden was amazing. I would have loved to see it in bloom.

These flowers lined the walls along the walkways in the back of the palace.

Majestic urns anchored the Yew tree lined park.

Happy Halloween!

Walking London

London is a city made for walking. There is plenty different modes of transportation at your fingertips, but walking is the only way to really get to know a city. Early Sat. morning, HH and I left our hotel for a quick walk. We ended up being gone about 3 hours and had a great time sightseeing. We headed down Embankment next to the Thames and crossed the bridge so we could get better views of Parliament.

The sun started to peak out from behind the clouds, but it was still really cool, in the 50's. Perfect for walking.

Across the street from Parliament is Westminster Abbey. This is where Princess Diana's funeral took place and many famous people are buried here. We were unable to go in because it was closed for a special pilgrimage. I've seen it before so I wasn't too upset.

We then headed down Parliament street to the Horseguard Parade grounds. We passed this pub with all the flowers. So pretty.

Must have been too early for the guards to be on their horses. This guy was guarding a stable/dressing room area and when HH walked up to the barred door to get a better look, the guard yelled at him to clear the arches. This of course made HH want to walk back and forth through the arches just to see if the guard would yell at him again.

We then headed over to St. James' Park. My favorite. When we were young, we would come here and you could buy bird food and the little sparrows would land in your hand and eat. It was a thrill. Now there is mostly pigeons and ducks. The squirrels will come right up to you and take food from your fingers.

Buckingham Palace is at one end of St. James', but I didn't get any pictures of it this time. This is St. James Palace, a tudor style palace, and is where some of the royals have their offices. Built by Henry VIII

We then made our way to Picadilly Circus and the heart of the Theatre District. From here, it was an easy 20 minute walk back to our hotel through Leicester and Trafalgar Squares.

Restaurants Galore in London

Bar and Restaurant: Les Trois Garcons

This was my favorite restaurant that we went to. The menu had a lot of good choices and the service and food was amazing. Best dinner I had in London. I loved the whimsical interior.

We ate in the cellar with the window to the kitchen. By London standard, this was the best food for the best value.

LocandaLocatelli

This is the restaurant we saw Madonna in. We had horrible service while we were there, but I think it was because every waiter was starstruck by Madonna. While we were waiting for our cab, her blacked-out Mercedes pulled up, she came out of the restaurant, the paparazzi was taking pictures of her and she was off.

Inside Laconda Locatelli (not very private, Madonna must have wanted to be seen!)

Quilon

This was the Handsome Husband's favorite restaurant. It was an Indian restaurant, but not with the usual choices. We gave the waiter an idea of what we liked and he helped us pick everything and it was soooo good.

Les 'escargot

This was our least favorite restaurant. Everyone raved about it, but I had trouble picking something recognizable from the menu and what I got was not very good. Same with everyone at the table. A huge disappointment. Good side was that it was only 40 feet from where we saw Jersey Boys that night, so we didn't have to worry about getting a cab.

Embankment Cafe

We found this cute little, unassuming cafe as we were leaving the embankment tube station. It is cute, clean and the food is fabulous. We got a full English breakfast for 5 pounds compared to 23 pounds at our hotel and it was way better. They serve breakfast all day and have soups, hamburgers and sandwiches. The manager, Sally, was super friendly and this was a treasure to find.

We also ate at the Mercer, it was average and had dinner at a chain of restaurants called Marsala Zone. It was really good and inexpensive. Along with Starbucks, McDonalds, Burger King, TGIFridays and Subway, London now has Chipotle.

Swissotel The Howard

The Handsome Husband and I stayed at Swissotel The Howard in London. It is right across the street from the Temple tube stop on Embankment. It is very quiet and we had:

An amazing view

Large room

Wonderful, friendly service

Centrally located for sightseeing

Easy access to tube and train stations

Starbucks around the corner

The Lobby

The Bar

Our room

The room had wood floors and was decorated in gray and black. Great shower and bed. At first I thought the bed was going to be too hard, but I slept great.

France cancelled :(, but Loved London!

Due to the riots and the transportation strike, we did not make it to France. We went to the airport and they were canceling flights and trains were not running. We had a problem with Ryan Air (which I do not recommend to anyone) and were not able to make our flight, even though we were there two hours early. A little disappointed, but I believe that everything happens for a reason so I'm glad God protected me against an unknown battle.

We did have an amazing time in London and were able to add a couple of days before we came home early. In no particular order some highlights were:

1. Beautiful weather the whole time we were there.

2. Saw the Queen.

3. Saw Madonna (and the circus that is her life).

4. Enjoyed old friends.

5. Saw Jersey Boys.

6. Ate at spectacular restaurants (even if most of menu had odd combinations with things I've never heard of or would consider eating!)

7. Awesome hotel at a great price in a amazing location. I could walk just about anywhere and had the most amazing view. The view was The Thames, London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament.

8. Discovered the best little cafe for breakfast and lunch.

9. Spent time with the Handsome Husband, laughing and enjoying ourselves.

10.Realized how much I love London.

Have you ever heard of the Loire Valley?

The Loire Valley is a 3 hour car / 1 hour TGV ride from Paris. It is the Valley of the Kings. Here, in the 14 - 1600's the kings built their palaces. It was the seat of government before Paris. Numerous chateau and castles dot the countryside and wonderful medieval towns are ripe for exploring. I have wanted to go here for at least 15 years, but was never able to fit it in. Finally, we are visiting the valley for 5 days and staying in the wonderful town of Amboise.

Chambord

I have read many travel books and have narrowed my chateau visiting list to 10 must sees:

Chambord

Chenonceaux

Villandry

Amboise

Usse

Azay Le Rideau

Blois/Clos-Luce

Chateau d'Angers

Abbaye de Fontevraud

Chenonceaux

Exciting, intriguing, history. Beautiful Chateaus and glorious gardens. I am looking forward to riding bikes, picnicking (if weather permits), and relaxing.

Gone With The Wind

Clark Gable as Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara

I'm currently reading Gone With The Wind for the second time. The first time being when I was a sophomore in high school. Just let me tell you, it is soooo much better this time around. I think it might have to do with having some life experience and being able to relate more to the situations Scarlett finds herself in and I visited Savannah and Charleston a year or so ago and I can picture the scene. I'm reading it on the Kindle which means no thick, heavy, book to try to hold and I'm loving that too.

I've always thought Vivien Leigh was the perfect Scarlett and I could not consider anyone but Clark Gable as Rhett.

Here are a few interesting facts about Vivien Leigh:

1. She was British and born in Darjeeling, India in 1913 and died in 1967 at the age of 53.

2. Her name was Vivian Holman and she changed it to Vivien Leigh to please her agent, who wanted her to change her name to April Morn.

3. Vivien Leigh and Lawrence Olivier met and fell in love while filming Fire Over England in 1937. They were both married and continued their affair until their respective spouses granted them a divorce. They were married in 1940. Katharine Hepburn was one of two witnesses.

3. Vivien Leigh was 25 when she filmed Gone With The Wind and the woman who played her mother was 28.

5. Vivien Leigh won 2 Oscars - both for paying the part of Southern Belles: for Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBoise in a Streetcar Named Desire. Blanche DuBoise was her favorite role. (I guess I gave you two for one there!)

6. Leigh and Olivier divorced in 1960.

7. Leigh suffered from Bi-polar disorder for years.

8. Vivien Leigh was regarded as one of the most beautiful actresses of her time and most believed she was not taken seriously as an actress because of her beauty.

9. Tuberculosis, from which Leigh had also suffered for years, was the ultimate cause of her death.

10. She starred in a movie called Waterloo Bridge, it is the saddest movie I have ever seen, don't see it.

It was for a good cause...

Katie's sorority had a fundraiser last night: Pie a Pi Phi. Needless to say, Katie got her fair share of pies in the face. All for a good cause.

And on a different note, Delaney went to theme party with a Reality TV theme.

Delaney: Rock of Love meets Kendall: The Simple Life