Spent the whole day out at Hampton Court Palace. It was quite amazing. The palace itself is in parts which are basically as they have been left by their owners. The original Tudor palace was begun by Cardinal Wolsey in the early 16th century, but it soon attracted the attention of Henry VIII, who brought all his six wives here and there are bits that are done specifically for or by them. The next part of the palace was done by William III and Mary II in the 17th century and they added an elegant new baroque part. Fortunately, they did not have enough money to renovate the whole palace as that left the Tudor part for us to see. Later the Georgian kings and princes occupied the palace but again changed very little. The outside has gorgeous gardens and has an enormous hedge maze and the Great Vine (a grapevine planted in 1768 which still bears fruit). Really enjoyed this palace. Headed back into Waterloo where we met Carol and Adrian and went out to a fancy restaurant overlooking the Thames for our last night here.
