London (Day 5)

Another trip out of London. This time to Hatfield House where Elizabeth I grew up and where she eventually learned she was queen. The actual house Elizabeth grew up in is still there, although you can't get into it other than to see the banquet hall (which is very poorly presented, by the way). Not sure why they don't let people into the house, as I'm sure it would be a bigger draw than the (admittedly impressive) newer house.

The newer house was built during the reign of James I, Elizabeth's successor, and (I believe) it was built by Robert Cecil, Elizabeth's chief minister during the latter years of her reign. It holds several portraits of Tudors and Cecils, as well as many other paintings from the period and later. The decoration in much of the house is again that gaudy/rococo, although there are some rooms with a sort of old world gentleman flavor that appealed to me. In particular, there is a library with loads of old/rare hardcover books lining the walls. I was drooling over those but I doubt they would let anyone look at them since it seems like someone still actually resides there. Someday I would love to have a library full of great old books like that; it would be a collection and an archive, as well as a source of pleasure to own.

As with the other sites, there were all sorts of little architectural details just fascinated me. Inside, the tour guide gave a lot of great information and pointed out some of the most interesting pieces, which we never would have picked up on by ourselves. For example, there was a set of rock crystal glasses Philip II gave Mary I as a wedding gift. The guide was able to tell us about the history of the set since Mary's time, and I find it so interesting to hear how something like this survives and is passed along. The guide also pointed out photos and paintings of the marquesses (sp?) who owned/own the house, which seemed to be of great interest to the Brits around us though I have to confess I really didn't care to know anything about the present owners. I'm just glad they let a bunch of tourists traipse through their house.

The grounds at Hatfield include a wonderful garden and a path that winds through some of the most massive, twisted trees I've ever seen. I took all sorts of pics of them. As you can tell by now it's a good thing I rely on tour books for the 'money shots' when I travel, as I tend to become fascinated by the most random things. Oh wellbetter to have pictures of that then bad pictures of something I can get in a postcard or tour book.

After Hatfield, we hit the British Museum. (And I might be confused..maybe we did Soho and China Town today, too). It was pretty late by that point and so we just hit some highlights (e.g., the Elgin marbles, which we really wanted to see since we had been to Athens and the Acropolis many years ago). They were great to see, but I am sure to post a separate 'essay' about the controversy around them and my opinion on the whole mess. Stay tuned!