Today we went to the Iolani Palace, Queen Emma Summer Palace, did a lot of sight seeing and ate a lot.
I didn’t get back to the hotel until late last night and woke up a lot earlier than I needed to. We’ll see how today goes.
Our first stop today was the Iolani Palace. My mom’s halau chanted a prayer and presented a lei as a sign of respect to the past monarchs of the palace. A representative accepted the lei and chanted a prayer in return. It was beautiful.
Iolani Palace is an American Florentine palace and was the royal residence of the rulers of Hawaii from the Kamehameha Dynasty until the Kalakaua Dynasty. Each room is filled with gifts that the royal families have received over the years. A lot of us would consider the lavish gifts and decor as clutter but it was perceived as wealth. More clutter meant more money. Our docent took us from room to room, telling us the history and significance of most everything as we went.
Our next stop was the Queen Emma Summer Palace. This palace is much smaller than the Iolani palace, there was only 2 bedrooms, a living room and a common area. This tour is a self guided tour. With a bunch of artifacts on display. Lots of furniture, fine china and jewelry.
Nu’uanu Pali Lookout looks out over the northeast coast of Oahu. This was the site of the battle of Nu’uanu, where Kamehameha took over the island of Oahu. There’s also a hiking trail out here. We didn’t do the hike.
We headed back to the hotel for a bit before my mom and her hula sisters went to the beach. I was able to get a nap in before we headed out again. I spent some time in the water while they made lei’s on the beach.
We grabbed a quick dinner at an ABC Store and my mom went out to practice with her halau.
Tomorrow is a rehearsal day for my mom and we’ll be hanging out with her group while they rehearse. I’m not too sure what we’ll be doing.
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