Windsor

Hello, all^_^ Today I spent another day out running around from morning to night. I definitely feel like I'm going out and experiencing everything I can within a twelve hour period. Honestly, I feel proud of myself.

At 9:00, Wendy and I left ISH and got on the tube to get to Waterloo, a major station that is both part of the Underground and has trains that leave the city. We met up as a group and got on the 9:58 train to Windsor and Eton. There were multiple stops on the way, so the ride took about 50 minutes. Here are some pictures of the inside of the train:

I really wish we had trains like these in the U.S.- maybe we would have less car accidents. The Tube and train stations are seriously how the majority of people get around to their jobs and so forth. I see more businessmen traveling around this way than anyone else.

But anyway.

Unfortunately, it was chilly and rainy today, so I couldn't linger outside Windsor like I wanted to, but I still got a number of pictures. Windsor is beautiful, but huge- it's impossible to get a picture that encompasses the whole castle. However, I did my best.

I'm sorry to say that one isn't allowed to take any pictures at all of the inside of either Windsor or St. George's Chapel, but I'll do my best to describe all the things I saw.

Sara, our director, was able to get a great group deal that allowed us to see both the Windsor state apartments and Queen Mary's dolls' house, which I'd been unable to see the last time I was here. My group of friends entered through the Queen Mary entrance, and saw the doll house first. It was huge, at least six feet tall. It was very intricately detailed, containing a miniature version of every room imaginable, including the servant's rooms. It even included the gardens. There was electricity for the lights, and the tiny plates on the tables were made of silver. It was a beautiful piece of work, especially for when it was made: 1924.

In the next room over were dresses, shoes, and gloves for the dolls that were given to then Princess Elizabeth and her younger sister. The doll's names are France and Marianne, and it definitely puts my American Girls dolls to shame. The dresses were made by the leading French designers of the day, and they definitely look like smaller versions of the dresses that I'm sure the princesses themselves wore.

Past that room was the beginning of the state apartments, an absolutely gorgeous display that I can't possibly replicate with words. I found a picture of the biggest room on display, St. George's Hall, for you to get a feel of what all of the rooms looked like as a whole:

This is the room where the Queen has receptions, state banquets, and so on. It's a very long room, 185 feet to be exact, and is covered in miniature versions of all of the royal and noble family crests through English history up to today. It's very impressive. The other rooms that we saw included:

• The King's Drawing Room
• The King's Bedchamber
• The King's Dressing Room
• The Queen's Drawing Room
• The Queen's Ballroom
• The King's Dining Room- This room contained portraits of Henry VII and his three children: Mary I, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I. The Elizabeth I one was the one made when she was fifteen, one of my favorites of hers. It was wonderful to be able to see it in person.
• The Lantern Lobby, the location of the 1992 fire which destroyed a good portion of Windsor and had to be completely re-built. This room included armor that Henry VIII wore seven years before his death. Even knowing how large Henry was in his older years, the size of the suit of armor really put the whole thing into perspective for me.

After leaving the castle, we walked down to St. George's Chapel, in which over 32 members of English royalty are buried, including Henry VIII, Prince Albert, Charles I, and George VI. It was a very somber, humble time for me- I sat by the marble slab underneath which contained the remains for Henry VIII, his third wife Jane Seymour, Charles I, and an unnamed infant child of Queen Anne's, for close to 20 minutes. Before I left, I rested my hand on the slab and paid my respects. I also lit a candle by the exit. I found a picture online of the slab in question, so here it is:

After leaving the chapel, my friends and I had a pleasant lunch in the Town of Windsor at a place called Ha Ha Bar and Grill. I had a chicken caesar wrap, the first cooked meat I'd had since last last Friday. After we ate, we went back to the train station, caught the next train, and went back to Waterloo station in London.

When we got back, Wendy decided to go back to ISH, while I went with three of my other friends (Sarah S., Emily U., and Robyn) to Connaught so Emily could catch up with people on the internet service there (she's been having issues with her laptop since we arrived.) While Emily was doing that, Sarah, Robyn and I looked online for a good pub we could check out so we could get something to eat. It was a long, boring process that I won't recount, but after picking one and then deciding to find somewhere else to go once we got there and realized how packed it was, we walked down Euston Road and found a bistro pub called The Rocket. As we were warned at orientation, we had to scope out and snag our own seats, and order what we wanted at the bar.

You'll all be proud- I spontaneously ordered a screwdriver. Here's the proof if you want it:

I did not drink through the straw, FYI. The bartender stuck it there, and I took it out later.

Along with the screwdriver, I had a cheeseburger (which I ate half of- I'm still in diet mode.) We hung out for awhile in the pub, and finally left around 8:30. We walked a few blocks over to King's Cross station, where we split off and went our separate directions. I rode back on my own to my station right outside ISH, and now here I am.

I have no definite plans for tomorrow or this weekend, but the possibilities I currently have in mind are: the Sherlock Holmes Walk I mentioned in my previous post, the National Portrait Gallery (different from the National Gallery,) walking around Oxford Street and/or Piccadilly Circus with friends, and/or walking around Kensington Gardens to get some writing inspiration. Or I could just take it easy in the room tomorrow- I have plenty of time to check out all these places.

Oh well, we'll see. Until then!

Katie