Our day started at the local hydrotherapy pool- no I'm not back into aqua although I will be as soon as my feet touch Australian soil. We were there to watch Eli at his swimming lesson. He loves the water! Joe drove us back to Richmond through the famous Richmond Deer Park, the scene of the famous Fenton youtube video, although we didn't see a single deer. We stopped at King Henry's Mound- not even big enough to be called a hill- and were amazed by the view out to Windsor castle to the south-west, and amazingly to St Paul's Cathedral in the city! Through a telescope, I could see St Paul's clearly-very cool! They keep trees cut back and don't allow buildings to block this direct line of sight. There are apparently eight such lines of sight, obviously a very important thing in centuries past.
Joe dropped us off and we walked down to the river and to catch the 11am cruise to Hampton Court Palace. We sat right up the front, even though it was a bit chilly, and I was so pleased we did as we actually went through a lock! The lock gate closed behind us, water rushed in, and we rose up to the level of the river above us. I was very impressed as was the three year old sitting beside us. We cruised upstream admiring the beautiful homes and gardens backing onto the river until we reached Kingston where we hopped off ( well hopped off might be a bit of a stretch of the imagination as I had my hiking stick with me today!) and boarded a larger boat for the rest of the journey to Hampton Court.
We cruised past Hampton Court Palace on our right, so jumped off (once again I might have said clambered off), crossed the bridge to the town of Hampton Court looking for the Palace which we thought must have been behind the town. However we were both wrong! The boat must have done a 180 degree turn to pull into the wharf which neither of us noticed. Ross had gone downstairs to throw our rubbish in the bin, but my only excuse was that I had drunk a bottle of Magners cider on the way!
By this time, I needed to find a loo (a pint of cider!) and found one in an English pub called The Prince of Wales. The aromas wafting from the kitchen reminded me of seafood chowder so we stopped for a "bite to eat". I ordered garlic an chilli prawns and salt and pepper squid- really delicious- washed down with a glass of pinot grigio. Ross asked our waiter where the palace was, which was when we founf out it was EXACTLY where we got off the boat!
So off to the palace we went. Firstly we entered Henry VIII's apartments which were really interesting, then we walked through William III's ( William of Orange) palace. Henry's palace was built in the Tudor style and William's in Baroque. Fascinating! This is my favourite castle so far! We wanted to walk through the gardens but were running out of time. Finally we caught up to Joe and Angela and Eli for a coffee in the Riverside Restaurant where I had an Irish Coffee which warmed me up. I wasn't quite exhausted so was tempted to solve the maze! I love mazes. We finally got to the middle using my brilliant navigation skills. ( pure luck really!) In my search for a loo, we found the impressive vegetable gardens which provide veggies for the palace restaurants. Also the staff are able to buy remaining veggies very cheaply from a barrow in Tennis Court Lane every Wednesday.
We jogged back to the car ( read as hobbled!) well, actually Angela jogged pushing Eli and the pram, and Joe drove back to their house via Bushy Park where we saw deer- lots of deer! While we had some fun with Eli, Joe cooked us a scrumptious meal of Spatchcock with Tuscan Beans, which I not only had seconds, but thirds! So no wonder I felt a little ill on the bus ride home. After another long day, I collapsed into bed, and didn't wake up till almost 5am! Off to brunch at the Shard today!
Joe dropped us off and we walked down to the river and to catch the 11am cruise to Hampton Court Palace. We sat right up the front, even though it was a bit chilly, and I was so pleased we did as we actually went through a lock! The lock gate closed behind us, water rushed in, and we rose up to the level of the river above us. I was very impressed as was the three year old sitting beside us. We cruised upstream admiring the beautiful homes and gardens backing onto the river until we reached Kingston where we hopped off ( well hopped off might be a bit of a stretch of the imagination as I had my hiking stick with me today!) and boarded a larger boat for the rest of the journey to Hampton Court.
We cruised past Hampton Court Palace on our right, so jumped off (once again I might have said clambered off), crossed the bridge to the town of Hampton Court looking for the Palace which we thought must have been behind the town. However we were both wrong! The boat must have done a 180 degree turn to pull into the wharf which neither of us noticed. Ross had gone downstairs to throw our rubbish in the bin, but my only excuse was that I had drunk a bottle of Magners cider on the way!
By this time, I needed to find a loo (a pint of cider!) and found one in an English pub called The Prince of Wales. The aromas wafting from the kitchen reminded me of seafood chowder so we stopped for a "bite to eat". I ordered garlic an chilli prawns and salt and pepper squid- really delicious- washed down with a glass of pinot grigio. Ross asked our waiter where the palace was, which was when we founf out it was EXACTLY where we got off the boat!
So off to the palace we went. Firstly we entered Henry VIII's apartments which were really interesting, then we walked through William III's ( William of Orange) palace. Henry's palace was built in the Tudor style and William's in Baroque. Fascinating! This is my favourite castle so far! We wanted to walk through the gardens but were running out of time. Finally we caught up to Joe and Angela and Eli for a coffee in the Riverside Restaurant where I had an Irish Coffee which warmed me up. I wasn't quite exhausted so was tempted to solve the maze! I love mazes. We finally got to the middle using my brilliant navigation skills. ( pure luck really!) In my search for a loo, we found the impressive vegetable gardens which provide veggies for the palace restaurants. Also the staff are able to buy remaining veggies very cheaply from a barrow in Tennis Court Lane every Wednesday.
We jogged back to the car ( read as hobbled!) well, actually Angela jogged pushing Eli and the pram, and Joe drove back to their house via Bushy Park where we saw deer- lots of deer! While we had some fun with Eli, Joe cooked us a scrumptious meal of Spatchcock with Tuscan Beans, which I not only had seconds, but thirds! So no wonder I felt a little ill on the bus ride home. After another long day, I collapsed into bed, and didn't wake up till almost 5am! Off to brunch at the Shard today!
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