ONE MORE DAY--LONDON, DAY 8

Friday, June 8

   

We ate breakfast at Caffe Nero, knowing that today would be our last full day to enjoy the sights and sounds of England.  I ate an almond croissant before realizing that I had actually planned to order porridge before leaving London.  Oh, well.  I can make oatmeal at home.  Home seemed so very far away, like something from another lifetime.  Actually, home WAS so very far away, but we would be returning after just one more day.

After breakfast, we walked the short distance to Paddington Station to buy train tickets to the town of Windsor, where the Queen's favorite home away from home is located--Windsor Castle.  We have a real talent for embarrassing ourselves in unfamiliar situations.  It took us forever even to rationalize where to go to buy the train tickets.  Such tourists!

Tickets in hand, we scurried through the large station to the platform we thought would get us on the correct train.  In time, we found some employees and asked where, exactly, we needed to go to catch the train to Windsor.  We were told to go several platforms over from where we were and that the train would arrive in about ten minutes.

We boarded the right train and headed for a little village just outside of London called Slough (rhymes with plow), changed trains, and quickly arrived in Windsor, a town of about 30,000. 

Luckily, the train station has more than adequate shopping and restaurant facilities, and we stumbled onto a Caffe Nero, where we grabbed a ham and cheese pannini before heading across the street--yes, across the street--to the castle.

After waiting in an insanely long line we purchased our Windsor tickets and were allowed to enter the grounds of the castle.  I had flashbacks to the long lines at Six Flags.  While waiting, I could not help but notice the thousand plus year old wall that we were standing beside and how moss and flowers were growing right out of it.

Once the tickets were purchased and we were properly and thoroughly inspected, we entered the gates of Windsor and began our audio tour. 

The State Apartments at Windsor are amazing.  We expected to go through about three rooms.  Wrong.  It was something like twenty rooms.  Huge rooms.  Once again, we needed a full day to see Windsor Castle but only had a few hours.  Many times on our trip we felt like the Griswalds.

The rooms in the State Apartments are exquisite and difficult to describe.  Just imagine never-ending glitz and glitter from floor to ceiling and you have it.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures--no photography allowed inside the castle.  No problem.  I was mostly impressed with the gardens and fountains anyway and never tired of taking pictures of these.

Unfortunately, all of the dates are wrong on these photos.  They were taken June 8, 2012, not January 2, 2006.  Darned camera operator.  (I have only myself to blame.)

After leaving the castle, we strolled through the town of Windsor.  It looks like this.

Streets of Windsor

I was determined to purchase something that would remind me of our time in England, so I decided a small silver ring would do the trick.  As we completed the transaction, the store clerk asked if we had seen much of the town of Windsor.  She said we definitely needed to see the Long Walk before catching the train back to London.

Unfortunately, this meant walking all the way back through town.  My feet were aching, and Glenn was getting cranky, but we knew we might never have this opportunity again.  We followed the route she gave us and soon reached our destination.  It was well worth sore feet and a grouchy disposition.

Connie on the Long Walk

Glenn and Connie on the Long Walk with Castle Gates in the background

We met a young couple--he was from Florida, and she lived in London.  We exchanged cameras, and they made pictures of us, and we made pictures of them.  That works out well unless you ARE the Griswalds, and the friendly photographer runs away with your camera.   

Feeling satisfied that we had seen and done all we could physically handle in one day, we returned to the train station and waited for the little train that runs between Slough and Windsor.  By this time we knew we had spent one of the most memorable days of our entire trip and we were ready to get back to London.

The Train Station in Slough

We walked from Paddington to The Swan to enjoy one last night of Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas.  As we sat and ate we felt quite at home in our little pub.  We were filled with mixed emotions knowing that tomorrow we would leave, maybe never to return, but satisfied that we had made memories that would last a lifetime.