Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Mandy's Adventures
Today I went to Windsor with two other American students, Kate and Lindy. It took us a bit longer than we expected to get there because the first bus we took had to turn around because a road was closed which didn't get us to our stop in time to catch the second bus we needed to take to Windsor. We had a longer wait at the bus stop than we would have wished, but we made it without problem. On the second bus, we met a lovely older gentleman who had been a historian at Windsor for many years. He offered to give us a free tour of some different places. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet up with him later in the day. Although I had already paid to go through the castle when Priscilla and I were there last May, I ended up going through again. I'm glad I did because there were things that I saw this time around that I had missed last time. One of my favorite parts was seeing Queen Mary's Doll House again. I wish I could have taken pictures of it but they are very strict about using cameras inside the buildings. The doll house was presented to Queen Mary in 1923 as a sign of goodwill. It took 3 years and the work of 1,500 tradesmen and artists to complete. Created on a 1-inch-to-1-foot scale, it has working elevators that stop on every floor, electric lighting, and running water in all five bathrooms. It is amazing to see all the intricate details from the tiny dinner plates made of solid silver to each little wine bottle in the wine cellar. The gardens were beautiful today in the sunshine, esp. the roses. In addition to touring some spectacular rooms inside the castle, we also walked through St. George's Chapel which is where Prince Charles married Camilla. We arrived too late to see the changing of the guard (darn buses), but did get a chance to pose next to one of the guards. He was a rather young lad, and I truly do not know how he kept a straight face. That is one job I would not want to have! After touring the castle, we walked around a bit and stopped in a few shops. We stopped at West Cornwall Pasty Co. for take away (to go) pasties to eat out in the sunshine. A pasty (pronounced with a short a) is a flaky crust filled with different ingredients--I had a cheese and vegetable pasty. They were fresh, hot, and very tasty. I was a little disappointed in my day because the shop where I was planning on making a purchase was no longer there. Oh, well. I guess I will have to keep traveling around until I find what I was looking to purchase! After the rainy day we had here yesterday, it was a pleasant surprise to have such lovely weather today. The sky was very blue and the sun was shining--well, except for the few seconds the sun was blocked by each of the seemingly endless number of planes taking off. Windsor was a nice day trip. It still feels strange that I can just take a "day trip" to places like Windsor Castle! I'm sure you are glad to see some photos more exciting than just my boring kitchen, so enjoy!
- comments