Windosr Castle

Yesterday we started our day off with a trip to Windor Castle. When we left in the morning the weather was beautiful and we didn't pack our raincoats. We had to change trains in Slough (the armpit of London), and when we got to the train station in Reading Janna realized that she forgot to put on deoderant. Now, for a normal person, this is a slight setback, but for her it is the entire focus of her day until she gets some.

So, she was roaming around Reading station trying to find some for sale, and did the same in Slough. When you get off the train at Windsor, after passing through a sort of carnival, you end up in a big, quite fancy shoping area. Luckily we found a pharmacy, but it was not the end of the story. In England they have roll on or spray. No solids. So, despite being quite skeptical and not wanting to make a bad impression on the royal family, she chose roll on and tired to move forward.

We paid to enter, and as soon as we got inside the castle gates it started pouring rain. We hunkered down inside an outdoor canopy for a bit and enjoyed the audio tour from there, and when the rain let up we did the indoor areas first. It did seem like, however, every time we went back outside it was raining but nice while we were indoors.

The castle was great and amazing. It was fancy beyond belief. There was an amazing doll house that was a gift to Queen Mary (I think) that was really something to see. We even looked at a fair bit of art. I don't think either one of us realized how wealthy the royal family really was. As we left we a little changing guard ceremony that was quite fun to watch.

We already had paid for our tickets into London, so despite the bad weather and lack of raincoats, we pressed on. While in London, we rode on a double decker bus just becuase we could. We walked through Hyde Park and also Kensigton Gardens. We saw Kensington Palace, but we aren't abundantly clear as to what it is. We saw an amazing playground that was the Princess Diana memorial playground. We were told by J that Primak was the best shopping in England and that all British people buy clothes there. It was meyhem. As we walked in, we saw people trying on dresses over their clothes, there were large piles of clothes. You could barely walk through the isles. Then we realized why they were trying on clothes everywhere. There was a "Queue" about 40 people long for the dressing room. We found a couple of things that were very very cheep and we liked, but after standing in the "Queue" for five minutes, we put down our stuff and left. It was too much of a jungle for us.

At this point we were looking for a bathroom but couldn't find one anywhere. We tired the basement of a store called Marks and Spencer that looked like a normal department store, but we found a grocary store in the basement. The food there was amazing! We got a roll and a scone and if we had any idea how good it would have tasted we would have gotten much more. By this time we were tired and wanted to head back. J and her friend Tillie made us Falafel. It was really wonderful. Then we had some Cornish ice cream. Very good. Then we had some good talks. But the real event of the evening was that we tried crumpets. Oh my goodness! They were so good. After eating them last night and again this morning we have been on the lookout for crumpet rings so we can make them at home.

Today we decided we are ready to go home. We spent the morning shopping in Reading. Sue got some cute sandals and we got some last minute items to take home.

We visited J at Microsoft and couldn't believe how amazing it was. The five buildings were bright, open, colorful, and had lots of really neat working spaces. There was a food place or two in each of the buildings, and all drinks there were free. Free. Everyday. All day. Granted, the selection was not amazing, but there was water (still and bubbly) coke and coke light, orange soda, sprite, some juice, ect. We had lunch there with Jay. Our food was amazing and really quite cheep. J showed us around and we were really impressed by how well they take care of their employees.

The we were going to go on a bike ride along the Thames, but this morning someone hit Js bike, so we ended up just going for a walk. It was really nice and enjoyable on the river walk.

Tonight we are going to have some English fish and chips and do the last of our packing to head home. It has been a fun trip. It has been much more tiring than I think either one of us could have imagined, but it has also been amazing and unforgetable. The next time we post (which could be quite a few days because we don't have internet at home) we will fill you in on all the juicy details of our flight home. We are already thinking with anticipation of our flight home on British Airways with the complementary meals, and drinks and the TV screens on the seats.

For now, we've got to go, were getting a bit Peckish.