Good Job getting fitter! I am officially NOT becoming a better artist- I have not taken one of my classes in weeks- but oh well. Today I did not fast, because I went to HAMPTON COURT (King Henry the Eighth's Palace)! It was sooo epic... Prepare for a long description:

Part 1-Henry's Palace Highlights:
You never think about the extra rooms that are produced as a symptom of kinghood- there is a chamber next to his throne room that is essentially a super-deluxe waiting room, with giant fluffy pillows, board games everywhere, and giant tapestries on the walls (The tapestries alone where breathtaking- most of them where European depictions of biblical scenes, which I find fascinating; they gave me an Idea of this art project that I am going to do in my AP Art sketch book of re-drawing the tapestries with the same composition, but with very me stuff- you know... Monsters). Next to this was the feasting hall, which you would have loved; it was very similar in size and flavor to the Great Hall in Hogwarts, accept it had more giant tapestries on the walls, again of biblical scenes. Near the feasting hall there was a long corridor of paintings, all of which where exquisite and done in oil. They depicted the king and the court. The last thing we saw in the palace was the Chapel- The birthplace of the Church of England. It was incredible, the ceiling was a dark rich blue, gilded with gold and covered in golden statues and gargoyles; a huge organ sat on a balcony, its pipes weaving up towards the ceiling like veins.

Part 2- The Infrastructure:
You would have loved how it feels to be inside this structure. When you get past all the stain glass windows and exits, and up all the stairs, you start to feel like you are in the guts of some gigantic beast; its all long corridors and hallways and spiral staircases.

Part 3- The Food:
We had a glorious high tea with scones and sandwiches and cake... I'm gonna be so fat when we get back :(

Part 4- The Gardens: The Gardens where unbelievable. There where amazing statues everywhere and all these hedge tunnels and groves. There was a hedge maze, which me and Karim solved underwhelmingly fast. I must admit that the funnest part of the garden was the tree... There where these huge trees all around that had really thick-growing leaves- perfect for hedge work; I had a strange suspicion that these might not be exactly what they seemed. I pulled apart some branches, and sure enough, the trees hid a secret: The branches inside formed these big clearings that where totally hidden from outside eyes, like impenetrable green tepees. I called over Karim... Can you guess what happened next? I think you can. After a few minutes of intense squirming, scrambling, and arm-scraping branches, we sat in the center of the tree, feeling proud. It was very cool in there- I have included some amusing pictures that my mother took from the outside.

PICTURES: look if you dare...

 

Have Fun, be happy
-Amin