Hever Castle and Gardens

Hever Castle, Kent

Hever Castle is the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII.  It is in the village of Hever, in Kent about 30 miles south of London.  It takes about 45 minutes to get there by car.  I don't believe there are any train stations nearby.  In 1903 William Waldorf Astor bought the castle and spent a huge amount of money restoring the castle and building the tudor "village" behind it.  Castle and Garden tour is GBP 15.50 with free parking.

Hever Castle via Kembers.com

Disillusioned by American politics and press, Astor moved to Europe to escape the humiliation he was experiencing via the American press.  Hever Castle was not big enough for the Astor family, thus they created the tudor village that was really more home to live in and a place for servants as well.  

The Castle is quite interesting with a great history of Anne Boleyn and The Astors.  It is furnished as the Astor's left it in the living areas, but there are also rooms that focus on the Boleyns and Anne's history with King Henry VIII.   It is amazing and the gardens are spectacular!

 There is a beautiful Rose Garden and the Italian Garden that was added by William Astor to show off his collection of statuary and antiquities.

 There are many garden rooms that give the gardens an intimate feel in such a large setting.

Here is a picture with our driver Brad.  By the end of our 9 day stay he was like one of the family. He runs a fantastic car service and he is a nice guy.

This is a beautiful property and worth the visit.  As in the English way, there are great cafes, bathrooms, and gift shops.  You can shoot a bow and arrow, go through a maze and picnic.  

The Trouping of the Colour 2014

 I've been looking forward to seeing The Trouping of the Color again since 1983, where I happen to stumble upon it one morning and saw all the Royals including the beautiful and charismatic Diana, Princess of Wales.  I planned this whole trip around seeing this parade.  You can go into a lottery for seeing the parade on the actual Horse Guards Parade Ground, but we just line The Mall and watch the parade go by.  We begin by arriving in my all time favorite, St. James' Park.

 I wanted to arrive by 9 but we arrived more about 9:30.   I didn't get a front row view, but I got 2nd row, fortunately for me, the ladies in front of me were shorter than me!

 At about 9:30 Guards lined the streets and 10:00 am the parade started.  The parade is a celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday and has been going on since the 1700's.  Trooping the Colour allows the troops of the Household Division to pay a personal tribute to the sovereign with great pomp and pageantry. Crowds lining the route and in St. James's Park listen to music performed by both foot and mounted bands.  (taken from Wikipedia).

 The first sighting of minor royals, extended family if you know what I mean.   This bus was followed by a couple of Rolls Royces and a Jaguar containing Prince Andrew and others I did not know. 

 Then the Horse Guards.

 Then to my delight, Camila, Kate-The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.  Prince Harry cannot ride a horse in the parade yet because he is not a colonel.  Once he becomes a colonel he will ride along with his brother, father and aunt on horseback behind the Queen.

 Then came the Queen and Prince Phillip.  The Queen rode a horse until 2006 and Prince Phillip just recently started riding in the carriage instead of horseback. 

 The King's Troop.  The will go to Green Park and fire the canon.

 Behind The Queen and Prince Phillip on horseback is Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge, William.

This is such a great even filled with pageantry.  It is always the second Saturday in June.  You should see it if you ever get a chance. 

The Sculpture of Xu Hongfei in London

 The sculptures called Chubby Women by Xu Hongfei are traveling around the world.  They were in London from June 3 though the 16 and I happened to have seen them.  They are wonderful.  So happy and delightful.  The artist believes in light art that is happy and makes you smile.  I captured just a few of these statues.  The sun was in the wrong place for about half of them and I couldn't get a good picture.  I loved their outdoor location, along the Thames, outside City Hall by the London Bridge.

As I walked further down the river walk I came to the Hays Galleria which has a lot of stores and restaurants.  

This metal pirate boat sculpture was in it.  So cool up close but hard to capture in the photograph. 

I also stumbled upon this great restaurant.  I brought my family back for breakfast one day and it was well worth the walk to get there.  The cafe au lait was fantastic and our breakfasts' were delicious.  I had the full English Breakfast and the girls had Eggs Benedict.  The service was amazing.  It was a great find. 

Happy 4th of July!