Friday, April 16, 2010

Windsor Castle & London Wrap Up



Credit goes to my colleague Matt Grant from London for the suggestion to visit Windsor Castle. I didn't have anything left on my list planned for Friday. I've never liked ferris wheels so I'm not sorry I didn't go on the London Eye. It's only a short train ride to the town of Windsor, also home to Eton College and many modern stores that greet you when you alight from the train. I'm not a big shopper so yuk walking by so many stores was a turn-off. It was handy to pick up a few travel items on the way out of town. And I did have a fine goat cheese wrap and a half pint of Stella at the Haha Bar & Grill before catching the train back.

Queen Elizabeth likes to spend her weekends at Windsor Castle--the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world says the brochure. It is huge and rambling. I took the audio tour that was free with admission--more than enough historical and explanatory comments. I was most impressed by the gardens in the dry moat around the Round Tower and the grandeur of the State Apartments (no pix allowed in there).


The reception rooms, banquet halls and other locations in the Apartments were richly appointed with lots of portraits of dead royals on the walls. Weapons and armor, too. And the obligatory displays of gold plates, tankards and fine china. (Yawn) The Queen had not arrived for the weekend; her royal standard flies from the Round Tower when she's in residence. Yesterday was Friday and the Union Jack was flying enthusiastically due to the chilly breeze up on the hill. The castle occupies the high ground for defense purposes. Recently it's only been attacked by hordes of tourists. I took a short walkabout in St. George's Chapel on the way out of the grounds. The tomb of the Queen Mum is there along with a few other deceased Is, IIs, IIIs (and so on...)

Pictures were allowed in the Mens' toilet and this one afforded one of the finest views ever while standing in front of a urinal. The device at the top of the window is a medieval battery-powered fan that circulates the royal air in the loo.

Back to London after lunch to pack, tidy up the flat and keep up to date on the volcanic ash cloud that's causing so many problems with flights. I have a train ticket that I purchased yesterday morning at the train station prior to embarking for Windsor so no worries on getting to Edinburgh.

BONUS

I walked by a church on the way to the flat and its steeple is prominent from the terrace. Went over to take a couple of pictures of it a couple of days ago. Fortunately, a woman was there cleaning up and let me in to the sanctuary. She even turned on the lights so I could use my camera inside.

The church is St. Saviour's Parish Church, located in South Hampstead (I thought I was in north Chalk Farm--both are London suburbs). It was consecrated in 1856 and cost a whopping 8,000 shillings to build. Of course a shilling went farther in those days for buying Kentish ragstone and Bathstone dressings.

LONDON WRAP

I've been most fortunate on the weather so far. Most days were sunny but still not warm. The layered look is what most Londoners practice--justifiably so due to chilly temp (high in the 50s most days) and breezy.

I'm super happy with my flat on Steele's Road. The owner, Mrs. Robinson, was a pleasure to deal with. She provided plenty of info about the surrounding area for shopping, food and pubs along with color maps well marked so I could find the flat. And her instructions were marvelous for getting things operating once I arrived. The furniture and decoration is tasteful and comfy. The kitchen, TV, and wifi are modern and fully functional and the view is magnificent. It's a lovely place to stay, very convenient to transport into the heart of the city.

I'm off to Edinburgh this morning; goodbye to London!





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