We visited Hampton Court Palace today. Hampton Court Palace was a favored residence of Henry VIII, an obligatory residence for some other Tudors, a retreat for some of the Stuarts, kind of a hangout for the Hanovers, and then more or less an administrative burden for the later monarchs. But it is a great example of the typically British architectural pastiche, combining Tudor neo-Gothic construction in brick with an earnest effort in Georgian neo-classicism overseen by none other than Christopher Wren during the 1700s. We rode one of the overground British Rail system trains for a short 30 minutes Southeast of London to the Palace from Waterloo Station. That was a fun experience for all. Here we are outside of the train!

Once we arrived Ethan met some "courtiers." He asked them whether or not there had been any battles at the palace. Ethan learned that there had not been any battles at the Palace and that most battles take place at castles.

Another exciting feature of the castle is the hedgerow maze. Ethan and William studied the map before entering the maze. When we entered the maze, Ethan took off. William and I were hopelessly lost until Ethan came back for us and announced that the had found his way out of the maze. He quickly led us out of the maze without any problems.

Here is Ethan at the center of the maze!

The Palace has some really nice formal gardens complete with fountains, inquisitive swans, and manicured trees. Here are some pictures.

Ethan actually had a "run-in" with an aggressive swan who thought he had some food. The swan kept following Ethan around - which Ethan thought was pretty funny.