Subject: London travelogue (long) day 3-4 |
Hi again,
Here are two more days of our trip
Day 3 After another enormous breakfast, we gather for our drive to Windsor Castle. We had another guide with us besides Kelly and she had a monologue going the entire trip. I suspect some found it tedious but she gave us such wonderful information of the towns as we passed by them and also a history of Windsor itself. The ride took about 45 minutes and once there, we walked through what I can only call a fancy outdoors mall. We would return and have lunch in one of the pubs here and shop for a bit before our return trip. The queen was in residence (no, we did not see her) and the tour takes you through various rooms including the dolls house. What a doll's house!! Every light, water faucet, everything works! I would have stayed there entranced for hours. I also enjoyed all the princely gifts they show in various display cases. King George's chapel was surprising. I never realized how many monarchs were interred there. We spent a while wondering the various monuments. History is awesome.. This was the first time we got drizzled on and though prepared with our "broilies" our pictures show the grey and gloom of the weather. Walking back to town after the tour, we chanced upon not one, but two weddings: One, an Indian wedding with the colorful saris; and another more traditional with the bridesmaids all in black holding golden lilies. We so enjoy life's little surprises. It made our day to see and share such happiness. We watched each group go to their celebrations as we went to our lunch and then the return trip. High tea at the Hotel was a treat. It was an interesting ritual. George was not impressed, but I enjoyed the tradition of it. Afterwards, we rushed to get ready for our play: Mamma Mia. If you have the opportunity, go see it. It was marvelously funny and even though we are not ABBA fans, the music was perfect for the story Day 4 Breakfast and then we had a choice of either a walk in Kensington or a visit to the Victoria and Albert. We chose the latter, but on the way there we were treated to the sight of `speaker's corner. As this was early Sunday morning, not too many people were there, but it was still fun to watch. The V&A was terrific! We both loved it so much we swore we'd come back on our own and spend more time there. After a measly 2 ½ hours, we were taken back to the hotel and given some free time for lunch. We went to a Pres a Manger which are all over London and an inexpensive lunch of sandwich and drink. The afternoon, we had a choice of a Pub walk or Westminster Abbey and choosing the abbey was easy (we drink fine on our own, and don't need a guide). It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon; and we wondered over where the choirboy's school is located. Services were on at the Abbey and we were able to go in and listen to them sing. Heavenly! A quick trip to the shops and we bought supplies for a more that adequate picnic dinner (bottle of Red wine included) back at the hotel. We wanted an early night to sort through our clothes. We're off to Paris in the morning and we plan to leave one of our two suitcases behind for our return next week. They will gladly hold it for us here. #####.more tomorrow Marta & George Tamarac FL |