Wonderful Windsor - Holiday Day 5

After a busting day in London, we headed for a calmer day out of the city in Windsor to see the castle (Queen's primary residence).  She was in Windsor when we were there, so score!  It also happened to be elections day, so there was a certain buzz all around the country that made it feel historic just being there for the moment the Conservatives regained control of Parliament.  Windsor is easy to get to from London - ticket booth at Waterloo station and then a nice hour train ride from there. This is also the day I signed the papers to close on my house, so huge day!

Me and the queen - too much royalty in one picture!  We waited around for the walking tour, which was well worth it.  T pointed out how I've become a bit of a Euro snob...there were some very eager American tourists on the tour who loved to add their own commentary to the tour (pet peeve of mine).  Bless the tour guide, she was so sweet and accommodated them, and it did get funny toward the end to watch her try to make sense of the additional ramblings.  The tour was very informing though...lots of interesting points of interest I missed on my first time through.  

After the tour, we relaxed for a bit overlooking the old moats and the park lands around the castle.  The queen has a heck of a view.  We then went through the castle to see the sheer opulence of royal life.  Windsor is one of my favourite castles.  Its not super unique, but the English touches give it a much higher sense of purpose than Versailles or other palaces.  It's the best of both worlds.  No pictures allowed inside, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favourite room, St George's Hall. Included in the room are all those who have been part of the Knights of the Garter, led by the monarch and dating back to 1348.   
The castle was also recently destroyed by fire (1990s). It is really incredible how well they redesigned the sections that were completely destroyed, including the hall and side chapels of the building.  

She was in residence!  After asking for an appointment for tea, and finding she was booked for the day (bad planning on my part), we headed to St George's Chapel which is where the aforementioned (and oft mentioned) King Henry VIII is buried along with his beloved Jane Seymour.  Its a very unassuming grave, in the middle of the aisle with limited pomp about it.  Quite strange for a king that loved himself fairly strongly.

It took about 4 hours to go through all of the castle, after which we were starving!

We headed to my best kept secret in Windsor...fixed menu lunch at Cote Brasserie on the River Thames on the way to Eton.  River views for almost all tables and great food.  Couldn't be better than that.

We then walked down to Eton, window shopping along the way and exploring the cute high street.  And then it was back on the train for a nice train ride back, a walk along the Waterloo bridge over the Thames and back for an early evening of pizzas and wine.  Great day!