WINDSOR CASTLE

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 Heathrow

Awake about 7 am, I was ready to leave with Nancy at 8:30 am for our visit to Windsor Castle. Barbara decided to keep her feet up for the day to prepare for the journey home tomorrow.

We walked to the free bus stop that took us to Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 in the misting rain. Not heavy enough for the umbrellas but noticeable. Had to wait for the bus but it was an inexpensive way to reach the Airport and when we arrived there; another wait for the bus to Windsor Castle; not free but we did get the senior rate of 4.50 GBP each for one way.

Once we were settled in it was a very pleasant hour ride to the village of Windsor. There we walked up the hill to the castle; arriving just in time for the changing of the guard. It only happens every other day in the winter months. The white line that the soldiers stood behind to keep the tourist away has disappeared; I asked one of the guides and he said it has been gone for at least four years. Now tourist can go stand beside the guard for photos as long as they don’t touch the guard or talk to him.

We then went over to the Doll House and the State Rooms for the tour. I was doing really well taking a photo here and then and finally one of the guards saw me! She made me stand there and delete every photo I’d taken inside the house…darn…and I had some good ones. Oh well, I took a few after the tour from the book that I purchased for the blog.

St. George’s Church was another building to visit inside the Castle. All of the recent kings and queens are buried there. Small compared to some that we’ve seen on this trip but still impressive.

By the time we finished it was nearly 1 pm. We found the Crooked House Tea Room just outside the Castle gates and enjoyed delicious sandwiches. Gave Barbara a call from the owner of the shop’s cell phone and let her know we were getting ready to head into London. We’d established some rapport by telling her that we found the shop in the Rick Steves book. The day has continued to be overcast but at least it’s not raining. We enjoyed our walk as we shopped our way through Windsor village on the way to the train station.

The train ride into London took another hour but it was a beautiful train and very smooth. Arrived in Waterloo Station about 3:30 and decided that by the time we would go to London Tower it would be nearly closing. So, changed our plans and caught the tube directly to Harrods for some last minute shopping.



So glad we went as the Christmas decorations were fantastic. We enjoyed our visit to Harrods before heading back to the tube and the hour long ride back to Heathrow Terminal 5 and the end of our trip for the day.

It started to rain by the time we arrived at Heathrow; had a short wait for our free bus and then a ride back to the area of the hotel. The drop off was a bit further away than the stop where we caught the bus this morning but since we had our umbrellas it wasn’t all that bad.

We’re getting ready to join Barbara for some dinner in the hotel restaurant. Then it’s final packing and off to bed for our journey home tomorrow. Check back in a day or two and I’ll give you the final chapter in this journal about our trip home to the USA. Thanks for joining us on our adventure.