Bits about the Bitzes: April 2013

Today was quite a day! We got up this morning and got an "early" start (left at 9) and took a train to Hampton Court, which is where Henry VIII spent time and hung out with many of his wives. We got to see his apartments, places where lots of kings lived, Cardinal Wolsey's closet (I stood in it), the kitchens, the wine cellar, the world's most famous hedge maze and some amazing gardens. The weather here as been ridiculously cold (but at least it didn't rain for a couple of days) and yesterday we had snow. The bad part is it has been super windy and that makes the cold worse. However, I'm really happy it's not raining and I would prefer the cold and wind. T

Hampton Court was amazing. I can't even describe it. I got some pictures and a couple of postcards so you can get an idea of what it's like. I was so stoked to go there. I love Tudor history and it was AMAZING being in the places where they actually walked and lived. A really fun part was they had actors that dressed up as historical figures (King Henry, Anne Boleyn, George Boleyn, and Lady Jane Rochfort) and would do skits throughout the day pretending about events. At one point, Henry received the gift of a shirt that had pomegranates embroidered on it (the logo of Katherine of Aragon, from whom he was separated at the time and shouldn't have been receiving gifts from - Anne was pissed) and they asked who had brought it. I said I had and Anne Boleyn got mad at me. They were being really funny and gossiping about each other and she kept shooting me dirty looks and telling me I could leave. It was so funny. And they called me Lady Amanda. I could get used to that.

The entrance to Hampton Court

Aerial shot of Hampton Court that I pilfered from the Internet.

After that, we went home and had a few hours off which gave us time to read Macbeth, and was great after the super long day we had yesterday.The theatre where we saw Macbeth was amazing and I had front row seats. The play was awesome. It was set in a post apocalyptic/ distopian world and was very cool. They made some interesting changes like having Macbeth drink a potion and giving his own prophecy instead of some creepy visions. It was cool. There was also a lot of blood and gore everywhere. They had to mop up the stage at intermission (or interval as they say here) and afterward. Then I got a picture with James McAvoy and he autographed my Macbeth book. I thought of it on a whim but didn't want to get separated from the group. I wasn't sure if it would even work out, so I just went with them to find a restaurant. Luckily, we found one close and I decided to run back to the theatre to see if I could catch him. It worked out perfectly and he was out there signing stuff and taking photos. There were only about 10-15 people and it was great. He was being funny and nice and talking to everyone. He walked right up to me, signed my book, and let me take the photo. It was a happy accident that I had my phone in my pocket - I ran there without my purse. I'm super bummed the picture is so bad. I wish I had used the flash or had someone else take the picture. I was just so flustered and star struck!