Windsor Castle was absolutely spectacular. We actually paid just a few pounds extra to go on "the Kitchen Tour" and we are so glad that we did. After the tour we found out that they had never done it before and were stopping to tour at the end of August (so it only ran for a month). It was basically a little behind-the-scenes look into some of the areas destroyed by the fire and how they have rebuilt them, what they discovered, etc. For instance there was this room with beautiful ceilings that had been boarded up for decades maybe even longer because no one in the royal family knew it existed and so when they tore down the wood (due to the water damage from stopping the fire) they found this room used for storage was really a beautifully decorated room and now use if for dance lessons, etc. Of course, we also did get to see the Royal Kitchen, which was quite impressive as well. We will definitely have to go back to see the rest of the castle in more detail and will do that when some of you come to visit :c) The good thing is they stamp your ticket so that you can get in for free for the rest of the year. So pay once and go back as many times as you like....it's great.
The state rooms were breathtaking...everything in the castle is the original and there are no replicas so you can only imagine the history and the wealth in those rooms. The dinner service sets were absolutely gorgeous. So here's some pictures of the day.
Let's just start off by saying....SatNav or GPS is only as good as the navigator. So I typed in Windsor Castle, thinking well it would take us to "The Windsor Castle" so it pulled up 2 Windsor Castles one was about 7 miles the other about 8 miles one about due north the other slightly north east. So, I thought, "one must be a gift shop or something" and hit the screen for the one that was closest. Well we were driving and didn't see any signs for Windsor Castle (should have been clue number one). Of course, Greg isn't saying anything as he relies on my navigation skills (mistake number 2) while he's driving and as any loving husband didn't want to question my abilities. Needless to say we reached our destination and saw no sign of Windsor Castle. Made a U-turn and of course see this....
...indeed there's a Windsor Castle Restaurant. Oh well, 15 minutes later we managed to get to the real thing. Another typical trip with Claudia....always here for comic relief and a rolling of the eyes followed by a deep sigh. I will say I make Greg check to make sure we're going in the right direction now :c)
I love it. Levi decided he wanted to listen to the Audio Tour as well while standing in the line waiting to go into the state rooms.
Who can resist? Not us...Levi thought this was great. Of course, about 2 seconds before this photo the soldier did some sort of switching the gun from one arm to the other...which did scare him a bit.
As promised in the previous post, the photo Levi took.
After the fun and excitement we decided to grab some lunch outside the castle walls. A little greek place was just what we needed. Then we headed off to feed the swans and ducks on the Thames. I will say there are plenty of ducks for feeding in the UK. We usually take our left over bread to Bury St. Edmunds Abbey gardens and feed the ducks there.
What's a day without some delicious mint chocolate chip icecream....
See Grandpa he can eat it out of the cone :c)
We are of course still working on form and speed :c)
And now not even 5 minutes into the car ride home....here's little exhausted Levi (as usual)
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