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Published: October 9th 2009
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I left my room at eight sharp and looked for a breakfast downstairs, but I was surprised to find I was the earliest diner, even staff was only a bit earlier than me and water was still cooking. I had a simple breakfast, then I asked about the exact location of Hampton Court Palace. The staff was so eager to check the map for me. Nice~~
Located in Zone 6 of Hampton, SW London, Hampton Court Palace, as I expected, was about one hour an a half from my hostel. I followed the direction, walked for about 10 minutes and came to one of the palaces of Henry VIII. After buying the tickets, I was led by a tour guide who dressed in the old times. First I came to a large hall where "wood carvings" on the wall were all drawn and painted. The most unique part of the place was the maze though. My first real maze!! I have been so proud of my direction sense, so I challenged myself--finish the maze in an hour! I started to feel regret as it broke my confidence entirely. Sigh...I got lost after coming to two dead ends and I started
to give up, which was also difficult. If I didn't see visitors, I think I would have got lost indeed. After that I had lunch in a cafe in the backyard of the palace. Food wasn't bad at all, and was charged at a reasonable price for lunch. I would definitely have stayed there for a longer time if I wasn't in a hurry.
I left the palace to meet Hector in Wimbledon Station. As what Hector said, Wimbledon is one of the wealthiest area in London. Really, houses were so beautiful and the environment was so lovely and adorable. 15 minutes later, we came to All England's Club. What a pity that the centre court was under maintenance and there was no way to see it. We visited the wimbledon museum at basement. Similar to the one in Roland Garros's venue, Wimbledon Museum tells the tennis history, but in a much more interesting approace. It first introduced the story of "Love (meaning zero points in tennis matches)". There was also an interactive game where you can compete your response with your friends. (I beated Hector, hehe). Of course it displayed the tennis shirt of the players as well.
Next we took a photo in front of Standford Bridge Stadium before visiting Imperial War Museum. Two cannons were in front of the museum. You can see so many military aircrafts hanged and tanks displayed once you step in the museum. However, the most impressive one was the showroom of WWII which tells you the crimes of Nazi. Measuring skulls, chlorine rooms, photos of bones and skeletons...all displayed the cruelest face of history.
It's time to take a break after an impressive yet sad time in the Imperial War Museum, so we headed to O2 Arena in Greenich. The arena transformed from Millennium Dome, another celebration for 2000. Since visitors attracted by Millennium Dome failed to meet the expectation, it became a controversial issue in the city. In 2003, Millennium dome was changed into a multi-purpose arena by AEG and introduced consortium comprising O2 and other institutions. Purple neon light now brightens the former Dome in the evening, while the entertaining facilities like restaurants, bars and cinema have taken place of the original exhibition halls. So modern trendy! The "rabbit" at the centre had a video camera installed to record free short videos for visitors who love dancing. Quite fun actually. There was also a room where it people can take a break and enjoy leisurely music. We walked round the arena and had dinner in an Italian restaurant near Pizza Express. We ordered a pizza, a pasta and two white wines, which were all yummy and only costed us 11 pounds. Worth so much given that I am in London. Each of us had a pint of beer after dinner to finish our evening.
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