Oahu Day 8

Allan and I took the day to go sightseeing while mom and dad helped Hannah clean her apartment.

Something that I had yet to do was visit Iolani Palace. We had to get the bus there, but it wasn't a long journey on the bus which was good because the bus was unsurprisingly late. We arrived at the palace just in time for our 12pm tour. We got our tickets scanned at the ticket booth and then power walked over to the palace entrance. We were told to put some shoe covers on, and wait until the docent (a tour guide) arrived to start the visit.

Our docent arrived shortly after we sat down to wait, and introduced himself and why he works at the palace. Apparently he is a local and grew up not far from the palace. We went into Iolani Palace and I was stunned by the reconstruction. The docent explained that after the fall of the monarchy, Iolani Palace was used as government offices and most of the original furnishings were sold all the way down to the light fixtures and rugs. Over many painstaking years, Friends of Iolani Palace have worked to put the palace back to its original state after it was going to be knocked down when the government moved out. They have somehow managed to find majority of the original furniture and even light fixtures that used to be in the palace. It's pretty impressive.

In the first room, a foyer-like area, there are paintings along the walls with different Hawaiian monarchs. King Kalakaua liked the style of monarchs in other countries honoring predecessors and showing lineage by having their portraits displayed and did the same. The docent talked us through the monarchs on the walls discussing who the crown passed to when the monarch died and it was interesting to learn that women could be monarch in their own right. Some kings had favored consorts and those children got the crown rather than just passing to the eldest child. Some kings and queens had adopted children that the crown passed to rather than a blood relative.

The chairs and vases in this room were reclaimed after being sold and were original. The chairs were a great way to show the original and reclaimed nature of the furnishings because they originally had wheels on the front two legs to make them easier to move around, but when they were sold, the wheels were cut off. To restore them to their original palace state, the wheels were put back on, but an extra piece of wood had to be added to the back legs to account for the changes after the legs were trimmed when they were altered the first time from the original palace chairs.

We went into the side rooms into a blue room that was a sitting room at one point and had a piano and striking portrait of Queen Liliuokalani and her iconic dress on display. Connecting to that room with huge, open koa wood doors was the dining room and connecting butler's area for serving. The dining table was set and notably, the king's chair was not at the head of the table, but the middle. The docent explained that this is because the monarch liked to be in and amongst the people and didn't believe they were above their people. On our way out we took a peak at the pantry and a bathroom. Kalakaua worked hard to modernize the palace with plumbing and electricity. After visiting modern monarchs in Europe, he took ideas and notes from the European palaces he visited.

Also on this bottom floor was the throne room. It had the royal colors for King Kalakaua as well as his royal clothing. Everything in the room was original and restored to its former glory. Around the room were the coat of arms for different countries that offered gifts to Hawaii. It was a really spectacular room and was modeled from the British monarchy's throne room.

We moved back into the main foyer and were directed to the staircase. The staircase was the centerpiece of the room and is original. It is made out of koa wood, a strong Hawaiian wood. We all took care going up the stairs, staying on the right side in a single file. The stairs and the rug on them were both beautiful and you couldn't help but move slowly and treat the stairs with tenderness after hearing what the building had been through.

Upstairs was a collection of rooms including Kalakaua and Kapiolani's bedrooms. The furniture in these rooms is original to the palace and did belong to the monarchs. A black and white picture of Kalakaua's bedroom was in his room showing the original layout and the docent pointed out some of the furniture that was the same, and some that was still missing (just in case we ever found some at a local yard sale lol).

One of the last rooms that we went in was the room where Queen Liliuokalani was imprisoned when the Hawaiian government turned into a republic and became a US state. She was unjustly put on house arrest and restricted to the one room in the palace. She passed the time by writing music and books, and by doing embroidery and sewing. A quilt made up of scraps of fabric mostly from her own clothing was on display in the center of the room. It was a beautiful piece of art, and showed her strength and resilience during this horrible period of her life. It was a stunning quilt with intricate patterns and embroidery. I think it was one of my favorite things in the whole palace.

Once we were finished upstairs looking at the bedrooms, offices, sitting rooms and the bathrooms, we went carefully back down the stairs where the tour concluded. Allan and I both felt that we learned so much on the tour and our docent was incredibly knowledgeable. It was well worth the money for the experience. We were encouraged to go into the basement for a self guided visit. Down here we visited the former kitchens and saw different exhibits about the history of the monarchy and palace, the path to restoration, and the royal jewelry. There was so much we could learn down here too, but we skimmed most of the panels so that we could fit in more activities.

After the palace we went across the street to a statue of King Kamehameha and a rather grand looking building. It was the Alionai Hale, the House of Heavenly Kings. It was made in the late 1800s and is a government building. Inside we visited some rooms that mimicked trial rooms and some rooms had exhibitions about laws in Hawaii. One hallway was dedicated to the rules and regulations after the attack on Pearly Harbor and what had to be followed to help the war effort. Another room traced the evolution of government and laws in Hawaii. It was all pretty interesting, especially when it cited specific examples and cases.

I was feeling tapped out after walking around the hale and didn't fancy going to the State Capitol building. Allan loves visiting government buildings, so he decided to visit a few. I got the bus back to the hotel, which was late, and rushed up to the rooftop for the free Wednesday mai tai at the pool. I even managed to get and save one for Allan. We spent the rest of our afternoon on the pool deck chilling out until mom texted us inviting us to meet them for dinner.

We had quick showers to wash off the sunscreen and then walked to meet them at Hilton Hawaiian Village. We put our names down for a good pizza place and then walked around the nearby shops with my parents enjoying all of the samples in the cookie store. When we were finally called for a table, we certainly weren't as hungry as before all the cookie samples, but still picked out and enjoyed a kalua pork pizza.

After dinner we went for a walk around the lagoon while we waited for Hannah. She came and met us for an ice cream date at Lappert's. There were a lot of great flavors to choose from. Allan couldn't resist the ube (purple sweet potato) and I went for some fruity, tropical flavors. It was very tasty. Once our ice cream was done, we picked up some things we left in mom and dad's room before heading back to our hotel. The walk after all the food was probably a good thing!Weiterlesen