Our next opportunity to see some of the sights in Merry Olde England was on a van trip to Hampton Court Palace, home to Henry VIII and William & Mary.  This castle just seems to go on forever.  Whenever a new monarch moved in, he was, of course unsatisfied with the home and, rather than remodel, he would just build another wing or two.  We were going with more of the temple workers in a van, but at the last minute we were offered a ride with the Workmans, who had decided to drive their car.

There were about 20 of us there, so we got a wee bit of a discount on prices.  Unlike Warwick Castle, one price lets you into everything, which was nice.  The outside of the palace was very ornate (see pics) and was interesting.  The inside kind of looks like all the other castles and palaces, although the ceiling paintings were pretty impressive.  The most impressive feature of all at Hampton Court is the gardens.

This is a picture of a clock built into one of the walls and below is an inner courtyard.  This fountain and bit of lawn is completely surrounded by building.

And here are a few pictures of the manicured grounds.  The camera batteries died before we got any pictures of the various flower gardens and the maze (the batteries were safely stored in the camera case we left home).

On the way home, we stopped for a late lunch at a restaurant called "Smith and Western".  Someone had apparently dined at a Texas Roadhouse and loved it, so this was about as American a restaurant as you will find here (unless you count McDonald's).  We had barbecue ribs and chicken, with cole slaw, baked beans, etc.  We even had nachos for an appetizer.  It really tasted good.

Stratford and Warwick

More adventures to follow.

One side of the castle.

Dad ready to take on anyone.

Ready to dine.

A wall in the castle

The next day we went to Warwik castle.

Shakespeare theater where we saw "Twelfth Night"

Ann Hathaway (his wife) cottage where she was born.

Avon river runs through town,

This is the house he was born in.

After a four hour train ride we arrived at Stratford upon Avon.  Lots of history here.  Shakespeare was born, lived and died here.

Two weeks with nothing to do in the temple.  Also two weeks with no transportation.  The first day (Tuesday), we went for a walk to Lingfield.  There really isn't much in Lingfield, but we went anyway just to confirm our suspicions that there isn't much there.  We were right, but it took about 4 miles of walking to confirm it.  We were originally going to go to Windsor Castle, but found out it was the wrong day for the changing of the guard.

Wednesday, we decided to venture in to London to see a play (several have matinees on Wednesday).  We got a taxi back to Lingfield (walking there once a week is more than enough) to catch the train.  Here's a picture of the station.

From the station we caught the train.  We were supposed to get off at East Croyden to change trains, so we could get to London Bridge station instead of Victoria station (we were then supposed to catch a train at London Bridge to Charing Cross station, near Trafalgar Square.  We got off the train at East Croyden and asked someone if the next train was headed to London Bridge.  He said yes, so we got on and ended up at Victoria Station instead.  We decided we would walk from there and started out.  We did great until we got to Buckingham Palace, where we stumbled on the changing of the guard and a LOT of people.

The first picture is one of the gates that let you in (although they really don't let anyone in) and the second is a portion of the palace as seen through the fence and over the heads of the crowd.
From there, we headed for Liechester (pronounced Lester) Square to get show tickets.  Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn and ended up in Belgravia.  When we realized we were no closer to our goal than when we started, we broke down and hailed a cab.  It all turned out well though.  We got tickets to Lion King and had lunch at TGI Friday's.  We really enjoyed the show and caught the right trains back, so we arrived home safely.

Thursday, we were invited to go with another couple who work here at the temple (the Buntain's).  They are Scottish, so we don't understand everything they say, but we had a good time with them.  They have a car and drove us to Brighton (on the southern coast of England).  Brighton is known as a real tourist town, with a fancy pavilion, lots of shops and restaurants, and the beach (and Brighton Pier).

 This first picture is of Brighton Beach.  The beach itself is gravel, but that doesn't stop people from getting out there to sun and swim.

 This is the Brighton Pavilion.

 As you can tell from the sign, this is Brighton Pier.

Don't worry, we really didn't get married.

We are not sure where our adventures will take us next, but there is a chance we will still get to Windsor Castle and next week Stratford Upon Avon.