This will be quicker than usual, since I'm about to run out of time on my internet connection and don't want to deal with the free internet on the tv tonight. But, I had another great day of history-packed tourism, starting with a trip out to Hampton Court. Hampton Court is an interesting mishmash of architectural styles; one half is Tudor, and was one of the main (and only surviving) palaces of Henry VIII, and the other was designed by Christopher Wren in the late 1600s for William and Mary (of 'Glorious Revolution' fame) and refurbished again by George II and his wife Caroline in the 1700s. I toured the later half first, and was only partially impressed; it's hard to be impressed when you've recently been to Windsor, I suppose, since much of it seemed like not-quite-so-good replica of many of the State Apartment rooms at Windsor.
However, the Tudor wing was really good, probably helped along by the fact that Henry VIII had such a tremendous personality and executed so many people, in addition to the whole thing with his six wives and the separation from the Catholic church. They've done a great job turning the Tudor kitchens into a really detailed tour, with a lot of 'food historians' who are on hand demonstrating how meat was roasted, the jobs of the various cooks and kitchen staff, etc. Contrasting the opulent Henry VIII apartments (only a few rooms of which survive due to the later passion for renovation) with the huge, efficient, and likely incredibly uncomfortable Tudor kitchens that were capable of turning out 600 meals at a time was quite interesting.
After Hampton Court, I came back to London and went to the V&A Museum again (pics below). Between the Tudor stuff at Hampton Court and the stuff I saw today (focused on Britain from 1500-1700), I want to write earlier romance novels at some point in the future - medievals were my first romance novel love, but they fell out of favor in the 1990s, and I'm hoping that I can help to bring them back. Of course, I'll stay true to romance novel tradition and make sure that I create heroes and heroines who have an unusual fetish for cleanliness and an altogether anachronistic ability to conduct their sexual affairs in complete privacy.
I had dinner at Wagamama and spent the rest of the evening reading up on the Tudors and annotating today's pictures. Tomorrow's another excursion outside of London - likely to Brighton. Wish me luck!
PS - Mom and Dad, I still haven't purchased a phone card - I'll try to call you later this week.
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