If I’d Had the Veal Brains I Would Not Spit Out Buckshot – Day Two

A Trip to Hampton Court Palace

Some may recognize the gorilla tripod above.  It had wrapped itself around the front handle of the upper deck on the bus to Waterloo Station.  Fortunately from this position we were able to get a picture of the two of us in the front seats and on our adventurous way.

We sat back and admired the way the camera set up nicely in the window and took a shot back at us—a couple of tourists on the road! Our trip today meant taking the train from Waterloo Station to Hampton Court, about 25 miles up the Thames to the southwest.  Once again the British Rail service delivered us smoothly, quickly and on-time. As we left the station at Hampton Court we turned left and crossed over Thames.  You begin to see the Palace through the trees and the area for the Royal Landing.

From this vantage point on the trip we also stumbled upon a quick glimpse of the old and the new in London.  In the picture you have Westminster Abbey and the tower holding the bell Big Ben in the middle ground, while in the distance you see the London Eye and in the foreground a newer single-deck red bus—keeping the old while blending in the new.

The Hampton Court Palace was built by Henry VIII as a summer lodging and a place to bring, and in some cases marry, his wives.  The layout, architecture and grounds were further built upon by successive Kings and it is now preserved by the Historical Old Palaces organization, a not-for-profit historical society.  Throughout the palace and the grounds you will come upon actors filling out the roles of Henry VIII, Katherine Parr, Thomas Seymour, and various staff and guards of the period.  They are open to questions and provide some insight into the life of their characters.

Our entrance tickets included audio-tour equipment and the headphones and digital equipment were great—you can see the devices hanging around our necks in some of the photos.

One of the first areas we traveled through was the kitchen.  It was actually a whole wing beneath the great dining hall and included a separate courtyard for ongoing deliveries—in meat alone they would go through 700 cows, hundreds of oxen, several hundred wild boars, thousands of geese, ducks and chickens, and much more in a three month period.  It was important to serve your guests well and serving meat was a Tudor sign of wealth.  They would only stay three months because the surrounding countryside did not have the food-stuff to support longer periods. To the right you can see a small form of rotisserie and a pulley system to turn multiple spits at the same time.  This system was for smaller game and fowl since they don’t have the size or weight of some of the meat.  Below you can see the full size beef and large game spits and fireplace.  Each spit would hold an equivalent of a man’s weight and an individual would be responsible for standing near a fire up to six feet high and turning two spits at a time to roast the meat. Of course, if there is a warm fire in a cool castle Cheri is sure to find her way up next to it.  They did point out that maintaining the spits was man’s work, but Cheri thought she could try out for the part. Of course what visit to the Royal kitchen would be complete without a tour of the wine cellar.  With the amount of food consumed and the amount of liquid to go with it, a wine cellar takes on a completely different meaning.  Barrels of wine were kept and poured into ceramic pitchers for runners to take up to the Great Hall.

The fireplaces and preparation areas are very large and there were several of them in operation all the time Royalty was in the castle.  To my left on the floor of one of the fireplaces—you see only about one-third of the actual size—are fish grates.  Since they couldn’t eat fish on Fridays, and sometimes Wednesdays, and certainly not during the forty days of Lent they also needed to cook large amounts of fish.  Of course some reasoning did say that since geese lived on the water they were in fact a part of the fish group…likewise with beaver. There were also rows of brick hearths with open charcoal areas and ash collectors below.  This allowed for a continuous barbeque effect with charcoal being added at the top and ash filtering its way to the collectors below so sauces, stews, grilling, and general cooking can be happening all the time. Vintage in this time takes on a whole new meaning.  Wines were drunk young and harsh…why wait for aging when a little water added to the wine would take off the edge. Again, with the aid of the gorilla tripod, I was able to capture a picture of Cheri and myself spending time with the barrels in the wine cellar.

 



One of the key features at the Hampton Courts Palace is the gardening.  From the King’s Privet walkway above to the gardens lining the roadways, the grounds are beautiful.  You can see Cheri standing next to some of them an a better display in the collection of photos below.








          
We wandered the grounds for quite a while before ending up in the rose garden below.  The picture doesn’t do justice to the size, the colors or the aromas of the garden.  This was our last stop in Hampton Court before boarding the train and heading back to London.

Dying to Know

Upon arrival back at the B&B we rested for a few minutes and then out on the road again to Sarah’s Photography Show.  For graduation from Graduate School the students are required to put on a show and this is the Capstone event.  We followed the directions to P3 Marleybone Road, which didn’t sound right for a street address, but when we got closer there it was…P3.

We worked our way down some stairs and through the loading area following signs for Dying to Know and P3.  As we entered into the lower area we found the sign to the right which showed us we were definitely in the right spot. From the stairs at the entrance we could see across the show and Sarah’s photo standing out well across the room.  There appeared to be a very good attendance and many people continued to come and go during our hour or so at the show.

Eventually I asked Sarah to stand next to her photo so I could get a picture of the artist and her work.  Of course this meant first a less than serious pose, and then… with my urging, a more formal pose.

However, what was particularly moving was the write up Sarah produced about her work.  The flash covers up some, but the last paragraph says it all: ”Sarah Swenson grew up surrounded by strong female role models who worked, loved and lived to the extent of their abilities, and many times beyond.  This project is a tribute to them as much as to the women featured in the photographs.  Swenson has felt the need to seek out women similar to the ones she was raised around, giving young woman today the same sort of people to look up to that she had in her life.” It certainly makes her mom and dad proud.

Is this Lemon Water to Drink or to Wash my Fingers?

Since it was getting late, and Sarah had to remain at the show until 10 pm, Cheri and I headed out for dinner.  One of Sarah’s friends, who lives in the area recommended a couple of restaurants nearby that we might like to try. 
We headed out and found both places and each had a great menu, but we opted to be a little daring and try a French restaurant with some interesting choices.

There were roasted veal brains on the menu as a choice, and as I mentioned to Cheri part way through the meal I should have tried them—you go to restaurants to have something you wouldn’t necessarily make for yourself at home, and it seems that people a.) like them and b.) haven’t died from eating them.  Instead I had the roasted grouse which was a special of the evening and came with some fried pate and homemade frites.  The grouse was obviously wild since I found a couple of pieces of double-aught buckshot in one of the breasts.
Along with the grouse a small copper sauce pan was brought out that had béarnaise sauce to go over the meat.  In addition, a small bowl with water and lemon slices was placed next to my plate and it took me a few minutes to figure out that it was alright to pick up the bones to get all the meat and then to wash my fingers in the bowl.
Cheri had a combination of wood pigeons and quail, both of which were very good.  In addition she ordered the pommes puree—mashed potatoes—which were simply the best either of us have ever had; smooth, as in not even a hint of a lump, buttery and very tasty.
We made it back to our room fairly late and although I was able to download pictures, the adventure for the day had tired us out enough that we headed off to bed before writing.  A great day on the trail of adventures.