London ... again.

"Didn't you just go to London?" you ask ... 

Yes ... yes we did. But, I really love London. And actually, this trip was to meet up with my mom and my aunt! They were flying over to visit and London was our meeting point. We met up at the apartment and got settled in. We had a fun view from the patio ... but the trains weren't my favorite. I wondered how anybody could live right next to the tracks and not get sick of the noise. Did you know that pointed building is nicknamed the Gherkin, because it looks like a pickle. Weird. 

Wednesday morning we headed out to Hampton Court Palace. On the train out there we passed Wimbledon. If I were a tennis fan, I probably would have been really excited. 

Hampton Court was owned by King Henry VIII. And that's about all I know about that. Except I do know that Henry III kept expanding at the palace to compete with Versailles over in France. 

The whole gang - me, my aunt Jeanne, Kason and my mom (Juli) 

{And apparently Kason was obsessed with being a guard that day...}

They had these wooden statues that Kason was inthralled with! 

Kason said, "He looks like my dad!" Uh ... I'm not seein' it kiddo. 

While we were eating lunch, Kason fed the birds. They would get pretty close if he would throw the bread just a couple feet away. He was having a grand old time. 

In accordance with palace fashion, the gardens were amazing! 

Showing off his colorful feather ... well, a feather he found. Not HIS. Ya know...

Rose Gardens: 

I love all the small details these places have. They sure do add to the beauty. 

Hampton Court also has a maze on their grounds! And I'll be honest when I tell you that it really was kinda confusing. The tall bushes and the random sounds outside the maze made it easy to get lost. Kason would run ahead and tell us which way to go though - he enjoyed it. And we finally made it out!

Hampton Court has a grape vine that is claimed to be "The World's Largest Vine" ... whether that's true or not, I'll never know but, they keep the roots buried under the dirt and keep other plants from growing there, then all the vine is inside the greenhouse. 

Our last stop was the kitchens. They were huge. It made me grateful for all the conveniences we have nowadays - I would not be a fan of all that cooking with fire stuff! 

Servants table: 

Then ... we headed back into London. Here's one last shot - just for good measure ... and because he's such a great traveling buddy. Seriously, he does awesome.