2008 - United Kingdom - Day 1 - Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, and Runnymede

I arrived in SLC at 7:15 am on Friday. Mom got there about an hour later. Our flight was scheduled to depart SLC at 11:15 am. We got some breakfast while we waited and I read some in book. Once we boarded I fell asleep. Apparently we sat grounded for another 45 mins but I wasn’t aware of it. When I woke up, I watched Nim’s Island and read more. We arrived in Atlanta around 5:15 pm. We went right to our next gate. We had a few minutes so I walked back to a McD’s I saw and got us a couple snack wraps and ice-cream. As soon as I was walking back to the gate they were boarding. Yet again though we were grounded for 45 mins while trying to determine why a warning light wouldn’t turn off. The flight was 8.5 hours to London. I was able to sleep around 3-4 hours of that time. We arrived in London at 8:30 am. From there we got on our buses and went to Hampton Court. It was built in the early 1500’s by Cardinal Woolsey. First owner was King Henry the 8th with his 6 wives. We spent 2.5 hours walking through all the rooms and the beautiful gardens. There was a grape vine there in a glass house planted back in the 1780’s, still producing tons of grapes. I was amazed. That castle was huge and complex and we kept getting turned around. We didn’t even have time to see all of it, it was so big. But I really enjoyed it. Queen Elizabeth the first, Bloody Mary, King James….all lived there. Next we went on to Windsor Palace. It was the castle where the kings and queens have lived since the 1100’s. The state rooms were very fancy. It’s not as big as Hampton Court, but probably more fancy. Queen Elizabeth the second was there today, the flag was up on the tower which means she was staying there. We could only go in certain areas of the castle. We also walked though St. George’s chapel, where several royal and noble people are buried. The more modern kings and queens from probably 200 years ago and up had beautiful sarcophagi. There earlier kings and queens like Henry 8th just had a plaque on the floor, stating that his remains were in a vault under the floor with his wife, Jane Seymour. The interior of the chapel was exquisite. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take any pictures in the chapel or inside the palaces. Our last stop was at a beautiful meadow called Runnymede. Here is where King John was forced to sign the Magna Charta. There is also one acre of American soil, given to us when John Kennedy was assassinated. So I was able to stand on American soil today.