The next part...

Okay, I know I've been really terrible at updating this blog with my goings on, but I've been really busy - honestly! 

The day following our visit to Buckingham Palace consisted of a visit to St Paul's Cathedral and to the National Gallery. I have to say, whilst magnificent and stunning to look at, St Paul's wasn't really my cup of tea. I think I set my expectations really high and was expecting for a historical perspective on the cathedral - when really it was 5% history and 95% 'we hope you have a spiritual experience whilst here'.

The National Gallery, on the other hand, was right up my alley! It took us about four hours to walk around the entire gallery. Seeing 'The Ambassadors' by Hans Holbein the Younger was probably one of the most exciting parts of my trip so far. That sounds really nerdy, but it's true! I've always loved that painting. If you don't know what it is - google it, and play close attention to the white mark on the floor.

Unfortunately both of the places we visited on the Thursday don't allow photographs.

On the Friday, we went to the British Museum - which was both amazing and enormous. The section on Ancient Egypt really is one of the most comprehensive exhibitions I've ever seen. Unfortunately, their modern European section was closed (cue sad face), but hey, this just means I'll have to visit again some time.

Here are a few photos from that day:

British Museum

Statue of Rameses II

A really crappy photo of the Rosetta Stone (it was hard to get a good photo, everyone was crowding around it)

More Ancient Egypt stuff...

Natural mummification

On Saturday we took a trip to the Aldwych Theatre to see Top Hat. I think the only word to describe the show is fabulous. Sometimes a bit of old school glamour combined with show tunes is the perfect way to spend the day. It was all tap dancing, big voices, big smiles, beautiful costumes, ice creams at interval - just wonderful.  I also ate a really good sandwich that day, so yeah.

Sunday provided the perfect opportunity to indulge my inner nerd. I say inner, when really I mean, I'm a huge nerd - and proud of it. The best way to do this was a trip to Hampton Court Palace! Now anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE history, and anyone who knows me really well knows that I LOVE Three Men In A Boat (both the book and the TV series), so Hampton Court Palace was of course the perfect place to visit.

Hampton Court really is huge, and beautiful. And for any history nerd evokes an overwhelming sense of...I can't quite describe it...passion? Importance? Disbelief that you're actually there? Yeah, a mixture of those three.

For those of you who don't know, Hampton Court Palace was one of the homes of  King Henry VIII. A hundred and something years later it was also the home to King William III and his wife, Mary (who added to the palace considerably).  It's plain to see that Hampton Court Palace was built to impress - and impress it does. I'll spare you the historical details...

Hampton Court Palace

The flipside of Hampton Court Palace

Guy cooking lamb in the kitchens of the palace

Outside the kitchens

Pretty

Wow

Some guy and I

Charles I

Henry VIII

The Great Hall

Some serious stained glass windows

This guy was there too...

Some very pretty gardens

A view of William III's extension from the Fountain Court Yard (I believe?)

William III's extension from the gardens

Trees that look like mushrooms/broccoli 

Now, one of my favourite moments in Three Men In A Boat (the book by Jerome K. Jerome) is when Harris claims that the maze at Hampton Court Palace is basically not even a maze, because it's so easy, and then subsequently gets himself and a group of tourists lost for hours. 

The TV version of Three Men In A Boat (aka Griff Rhys Jones, Rory McGrath and Dara O'Briain) didn't take quite as long to navigate the maze as Harris and his group of angry tourists. 

But surely I'm the winner because I completed it in less time than all of them. 

'We found the Maze Centre at Hampton Court Palace'

This week hasn't been anywhere near as hectic as the last. But we did take a visit to Bodiam Castle. Which, though pretty hollow on the inside, was quite impressive - a proper medieval castle.

Bodiam Castle

That's all I have to say for now - so toodles until next time.