Hampton

I have come to love Wednesdays since we take a group hiatus to somewhere outside of the confines of London and see more of England (even if it is in a cursory way). This past Wednesday we headed here. Stunning.

There were two main phases of building so the palace ended up as an eclectic mix of Tudor and Baroque architecture. It was home to many names of note Christopher Wren, George III, William and Mary, James I, and Henry VIII to name a few. An interesting fact of note: the fashionable dress of the era matches the architecture. The broad, strong, square, grounded look in the buildings was exactly what the clothing reflected. Tall, elongated elegance of the Baroque can be seen in both the dress and the architecture. Nifty huh?

Squares and stripes and a few colored windows.

The palace was lavish and the audio tour interesting. I was floored by the detail in the woodwork and plaster they used for embellishment. The intricacies covered every inch of that place and my eyes were constantly crawling in and out of sculpted fireplaces or opulent tapestries. I loved hearing the stories of the royal families and blessed my parents a hundred times for not being the king and queen. There is way to much underhanding and thwarting with royals.

A duality of sorts.

My favorite place to be, however, was outside the palace staring at the architecture and brick work or roaming the gardens. I could spend days walking the grounds but it made me realize that I miss a certain Dahlia Boy. . .

Mushaboom, Mushaboom.

Vanishing point.