London Day Eight - click this for slideshow

We started out bright and early this morning because our trusty guide book said that the Portabello Market started promptly at 5:30am. Right!? We didn’t even know we were in the right place because people were just barely starting to set up. We knew we wanted to get there early because we had planned on Hampton Court Palace by mid-morning. So we got there around 7am, bought some hot chocolate to warm us up, and meandered down the street watching the vendors setting up. It was interesting to see the different booths’ contents . I took pictures of a few – of course the pastry, doughnut, cookie and brownie ones caught my eye. I also loved the bread booths – yes, where I finally got a baguette -- and the flower and vegetable ones were very colorful. The meat ones were questionable where they had raw chickens hanging, hamburger, fish and other delectables just “out” for all the bugs, germs, and little children to explore at their leisure. Ick. Lots of purses, T-shirts, jewelry, scarves (again!). I found an interesting military booth that I’m sure Bill would have made a few purchases at, but I wasn’t sure what to get. They had Nazi and World War paraphernalia, hats, coats, shirts, insignias, gun holsters, shells, etc. It was kind of cool in a war-type of way. They even had an original leather, fly jacket. Neither of us made any purchases, except the chocolate and baguette, so we headed straight towards the train station to take the train out of town to Hampton Court Palace. This was our first train ride by ourselves, and it was no big deal. We’ll be experts at public transportation when we come back. It wasn’t too different from riding the Tube. I’ll tell you what, though. They are PUNCTUAL!! When the clock says they leave at 10:02, the doors seal up at 10:01 and they are pulling away at 10:02. Good for them. It took about 30 minutes to ride out to Hampton. The ride gave us the opportunity to see some of London outside of the city. Before on our day tours we’d go right to a freeway and stick on it. This time we had an intimate look into people’s backyards, which gave us a glimpse into their lives. At one point we were overlooking the rooftops of a neighborhood right out of Mary Poppins. All the same height, same antennas, same colors. Once we arrived it was a few short blocks to the palace which was situated next to a river. I loved the front gates with a statue of a lion on one side (England) and a unicorn on the other (Scotland). They use the lion and unicorn together quite a bit. The architecture was really nice – especially the brick work on the chimneys. Apparently the palace expanded over the centuries so it wasn’t one genius’ idea, but different parts to make up the whole. We spent several hours here learning lots of history and seeing some phenomenal gardens. Rikki was a whiz getting around in the hedge maze. We only hit one dead end, and she just led the way and we were through. My pictures do most of the talking about the gardens, so I’ll let the pictures suffice. Compared to the other two palaces we’d been to, Hampton Court gardens were far and above the best. Beautifully laid out, colorful, manicured, fountains, sculptures, with a touch of wild, and a touch of water with swans. A few lucky swans and ducks and birds got the remainder of my baguette I was still carrying around. Obviously I can’t remember clear back to Versailles, but if I could, I would say Hampton had comparable gardens. It was just wonderful to drink the beauty in. I hope I captured it adequately on film. When we got back that night, it was around closing time when everyone was shutting down, so we popped into a few theaters to see if any discounted tickets were left. Les Mis & Billy Elliot were sold out, but we hit the jackpot on our third theater. We got front row seats to Grease for $21.00!!! We pocketed the tickets, found Ed’s diner – all American – and enjoyed a cheeseburger and milkshake, shared a sundae, then walked back to the theater to enjoy the show. It was a neat experience being on the front row, but I’m not sure I’d do it again. I like being higher up where I can take in the whole stage. I was constantly turning my head back and forth to view all sides of the stage, but I’m not complaining. The actors and actresses were right in our faces, sweat, breath, smoke (from the cigarettes) and all. I just thought it was a great way to spend our last night in London by attending yet another musical – and for only $21. Can’t beat that. I just probably wouldn’t do the front row again.