Hampton Court, Leeds Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Cliffs of Dover

It's been a few days since I've gotten the chance to post anything on here! On Tuesday Rebecca and I took the train to Hampton Court, where Henry VIII lived. It was really interesting, and really COLD! I can't imagine living there, especially when we were told that they didn't have windows back then, just oiled canvas! I was really glad that I've watched the Tudors, because it made Hampton really come alive for me; now I really want to watch it again! That night, we watched Bridget Jones' Diary, because we weren't getting enough of England!

Yesterday, we went on a tour to Leeds, Canterbury, and Dover. It was really enjoyable! Leeds is still a livable castle, and it's still furnished! The tour of that castle was fairly short, but it was beautiful. Next, we went to Canterbury Cathedral, which was really gorgeous! Most churches are on one level, but Canterbury has a million different stairs, mostly because it's so huge! The stained glass in this church was also really pretty, and again from France, with a lot of blues! The black prince is buried here, and they also had his clothes on display. Considering that he was from the 14th century, it's pretty amazing that his clothing has survived! The last stop on our tour was the cliffs of Dover. I have to admit, I was a little bit underwhelmed by these. I know they are very symbolic in British history, especially for WWII, so it was great to be able to go visit, but if I hadn't been told otherwise I would have thought they were just like any other cliffs. It was cool though, our tour guide told us that France has twin cliffs, because they were created when the plates separated and Britain floated away. That's how the chalk was originally exposed.

Today, we were originally going to do another tour, but decided to stay another day in London. The first stop this morning was Floris, to exchange some things and add to our collection of quality perfumes of course! It was fun to spend a little bit more time in the store and explore some of their scents! Next, we went to Harrods and drooled over their purses and stopped for an afternoon tea. Their tea room is surrounded by windows, and the sun was shining through which was wonderful. I am dying for some serious Vitamin D! The London Eye and Buckingham Palace were our last destinations for the day. The London Eye was cool, because it gave me an improved orientation to how the city is laid out. Buckingham Palace we had seen a few times before, because our hotel is so close, but we walked by and went into the gift shop, where I found Queen Victoria china! My dad had brought back some tea plates for me when he was here a few years back, so I was really excited for the opportunity to add to my set with the pot and teacups.

Tomorrow, we are to Paris! We have to leave super early to take the chunnel, but I'm very excited! Sorry to have to do three days at once, we don't have internet in our hotel room so it's difficult to find the time!