An A-maze-ing Day

Jon and I spent the day yesterday at Hampton Court Palace. It's currently celebrating its 500th birthday. It is also home to the oldest hedge maze in Great Britain.

It was planted as part of the gardens of William III and Mary II in the 17th century, and it was the first puzzle maze in the UK. Apparently mazes used to just have a single path, which sounds much less fun. It became an attraction for visitors when Queen Victoria opened the Palace to the public in 1818.

We solved the maze in fifteen minutes, but we didn't realize we had at first because it turns out the entrance is the same as the exit. We found ourselves back at the entrance and thought we had failed, but apparently that's what you're supposed to do.

At the center of the maze you can take fun pictures!

We also encountered several signs that I don't think have any business being in a puzzle maze.

This was for if you got bored of trying to find the exit on your own.

There are over 60 acres of gardens surrounding the Palace. While they were very well kept and pretty, they were a bit predictable. They had nothing on Patty Walsh's landscaping game!

Look at all that dumb grass! I do enjoy those goofy looking trees though. They look like they should be cartoon characters. Pixar should make a movie about them.

The highlight of the garden tour was some bird watching, of all things. My fear and loathing of most things feathered completely melted way when we came across this little household:

After the family spent some quality time together, the parents took a break to engage in what was either a fight to the death or some playful wrestling with another couple. One of the weirdest things I've ever seen.

If you have any idea what kind of birds these are, let us know!

We then went to explore the Palace itself.

The Chocolate Room. Chocolate was a big deal--much fancier than tea or coffee. This room is a rare surviving kitchen; it was where chocolate was made by Thomas Tosier, personal chocolate maker to George I and George II.

Weapons as art!

King George I would dine publicly twice a week, and it was a thing to go watch him do it. Eating in public was a royal tradition because it was a chance for the King to show off his "magnificence and good health" to his subjects.
"When the King dined publicly, he did it in style. For special occasions the dining table was dressed with starched linen intricately folded and shaped into heraldic beasts, vegetables, and animals."

Tapestry in the King's Withdrawing Room, where he would "withdraw" to meet with his chief ministers and courtiers. We learned that the room name "drawing room" comes from Withdrawing Room!

The King's Privy Chamber--complete with original Canopy of Estate of silk with gold lace!

Chapel Garden, featuring lots of animals as guards.

This guy was my favorite.

Again, there was an awesome art collection. Some highlights (images from the Royal Collection website):

George, Prince of Wales and Frederick, later Duke of York, at Buckingham House, Johann Zoffany, 1765
I like that it is somewhat a painting of paintings. (Those are portraits of the King and Queen looking down on their children. Do you think the children were fooled? Like they're going to think that their parents were super involved during their childhood but really they're just remembering playing near their portraits?)

Self-portrait as the Allegory of "Painting," Artemisia Gentileschi, 1638-9
"This is one of the most revealing portraits of a 17th century woman.Artemisia has depicted herself as a working artist and as 'La Pittura,' the idea of painting as illustrated in emblematic handbooks. Artemisia used these descriptions to create her self-portrait; the artist is lost in the moment, her hair tied back but disheveled, her body contorted as she concentrates on the canvas."

Visiting Hampton Court Palace also means occasionally encountering actors in period clothing. Some of them put on "micro plays" that are inspired by real events from the Palace's history, and some are just wandering around (such as one lost-looking gentleman with a violin). I did not engage with the wanderers because I can't stand immersive theatre.

While the Palace was a worthwhile visit, I did not find it as interesting historically or aesthetically as the Tower of London. It felt a bit repetitive, and by the end I was mostly going through the motions of visiting each room so that I could cross the attraction off our to do list.

For dinner, we ate at a restaurant called Bombay Dine Club. It was a bit early for dinner, and so we were the only ones there. For the first time since we arrived in England, we actually had spicy food that made us mildly uncomfortable! It was very satisfying. At one point Jon accidentally ate a spicy pepper; our waiter noticed he was in distress and swooped in with an offer of plain yogurt. After Jon regained his composure, our waiter suggested, "Maybe something a little less spicy next time." When we were paying our bill, another waiter asked us where we were from and whether or not we had Indian food in New York. He then wanted to know which city did Indian food better; I didn't know how to answer that as I don't feel there's a clear winner at this point, so I just told him their food was very good.

xo
Hannah