Sunday’s Repast...

We returned to Esher, outside London, and our friend’s place there, from the coast Sunday morning. And the plans were for a little party with their friends, BBQ, watching the World Cup final (go USA!), and relaxing in general. But we did throw in a history stop, too, as Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace is just up the road, on the Thames, a mile or so from their house. And it’s something!! Gorgeous gardens, stately and massive in scale, certainly. One room holds the armor and weapons: 2,871 of them—swords, guns, etc! And the kitchens are enormous. Really neat displays/exhibits of how things worked in Henry’s day.

(Below) Eli and Clark in the oven area — so huge! 

After that, back for the party. And it was lovely. The Meacham’s have really nice friends, and we enjoyed hanging out and seeing the US women win the match fiercely! So great!! In case you’re wondering, English BBQ means cooking on the grill, and Paul—Deb’s husband—made fantastic chicken, burgers, venison burgers (I didn’t taste those), and sausage homemade from his uncle that includes pheasant meat and was quite tasty! Baked beans were served, too, because beans are served with everything here...including breakfast! One of the families that came—their 13 year old son made a classic Victoria sponge cake dessert with strawberries that was delicious. So, Sunday was all-around a great day!