Windsor day trip

Last week, I went to Windsor to visit my friend Susan and her twins. Windsor castle is the largest occupied castle in the world, and it's been a royal home and fortress for more than 900 years. All that and it's just steps from the train station - a perfect day trip in the making!!

We had the perfect day to see the Queen's official residence. The weather was crisp and clear - beautiful blue skies that shone off the rock of the castle walls. We met up just before the changing of the guard, got our tickets, zipped through security in front of a group of school kids and strolled passed the castle gates.




The changing of the guard there takes place in a small courtyard outside St George's Chapel. (Picture us standing right where those folks are in the bottom right-hand corner of the picture on the left). Our backs are to the chapel and we're just ten feet away from the guards and the marching band as they parade through the courtyard.

Susan wasn't sure if the changing was actually taking place as the courtyard was completely empty about 5 minutes beforehand - apparently it's usually wall-to-wall people vying for a better view of the action. We literally walked up moments before and finished our chat without anyone else there. By the time the replacement guards marched out and the drums thumped in the distance, scores of people started streaming out to get a place behind us. It was incredible! We got a few pictures on Susan's camera, trying to show how close we are. I was grinning - what a fun treat. Susan just couldn't get over how empty it was - by comparison to a summer-time visit, we were practically alone!

After a memorable (but cold!) guard change ceremony, we strolled through St George's Chapel - Home of the Order of the Garter. This "most noble order" was founded in the 1300's by King Edward the III and stands as one of Europe's oldest orders of chivalry.

Apparently Edward 3 was quite the military leader, had an amazing fascination with Arthurian legend, and hosted a massive jousting tournament at Windsor in the 1340s. He had even begun work on a circular hall over 200 feet across, designed to hold his very own Order of the Round Table, but building efforts were thwarted by the Hundred Years War with France (which he apparently instigated). The church itself was gorgeous, bathed in warm light through glorious windows and filled with a solemn holiness and aura of tradition that seems lacking in most US churches. There were tons of monuments and tombstones to monarchs and famous characters in British history. Sir Edmund Hillary (first climber to scale Mt Everest) was a member of the Order of the Garter and his chair in the choir was honored with a laurel wreath, in recognition of his recent death.



After the chapel, we zipped through the state rooms. Zipped because we had to check our strollers upon entry and Brooks is heavy. Also, everyone was getting hungry and lavish court decorations aren't that fascinating to toddlers. We passed by gobs of intricately painted ceremonial china and pottery, hundreds of swords and suits of armor, walls covered in tapestries and famous Old Masters (I didn't realize that the Queen owned one of Rembrandt's self-portraits!!), and enormous dining rooms and state rooms carefully designed for entertaining the world's most important dignitaries. It was truly magnificent. I look forward to returning to the castle sans Brooks or with his Daddy's strong arms to help cart the little guy through the maze of rooms.

Once we finished our speedy tour, we had lunch in town... It was my first time to order lunch for Brooks off a child's menu. He did great and ate every bite of his pasta, though Momma "had" to help him finish the ice cream! After lunch, we loaded the kids in Susan's station wagon (her older daughter was at school, so with some shuffling, Brooks was able to use one of the twins' car seats) and headed back to her home. We successfully put all three kids down for naps and enjoyed a wonderful hour of uninterrupted conversation! What a gift!! Susan loves the Lord and we have much in common, so I find that time with her is just such an encouragement. I have a feeling that I would see her all the time, if we weren't 30 miles from each other. I got on the train to head back to London after dark. Brooks and I were both exhausted, but I was so happy for the chance to connect. After some adventures on the train, and a delay on the Tube, we arrived back in our neighborhood at 7pm - ten hours after we had left, but still smiling!

If you come visit us in London, feel free to request that we make a return trip to Windsor... My ticket is good for unlimited entries for a whole year! And we will definitely need multiple trips just to see it all! :)