Windsor Castle

Hey everyone!

Well, we aren't quite as energetic as we were at the beginning of the week. LOL But we still had a great day. We took the train out to Windsor and toured Windsor Castle, the home of Queen Elizabeth II, when she's not at Buckingham Palace. Windsor is a quaint little town at the base of the castle. It has a lot of shops and restaurants for the tourists, but it still has the feel of the English countryside.

Windsor Castle is absolutely amazing. It has the typical castle fortress walls, high towers, battlements, etc. Because the Queen was not in residence, we were able to tour more of the castle than normal. We got to see where the royal banquets are held, where knights are knighted, and where guests are received. The fire of 1992 destroyed a large section of the castle, but it was amazing what was saved. Most all of the art work and furniture was removed before being damaged. The rooms that were burned have been restored to original historical brilliance, and look even better than before they burned. The art work, weapon collections and other museum pieces are incredible. Every room has multiple paintings of royal family members and other notables.

Also on the grounds of Windsor Castle is St. George's Chapel, which is actually a huge beautiful church with incredible architecture. Like Westminster Abbey, there are many royals and others buried there, including King George VI and the Queen Mother Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth's parents.

We had lunch at a British pub in Windsor and headed back to London in the afternoon. This evening, we saw Oliver at the Royal Theater. It was a fantastic production. It seemed appropriate that we saw Oliver for the first time in London.

That's it for the day. Tomorrow is our last day in London. There's till lots to see and, of course, we must do our shopping!

Cheerio!

Rich & Will