Train to Windsor

As our last touring day in England was here at last, we had an ambitious plan to head out to Windsor Castle and Hampton Court, so we had an early breakfast at the hotel, then walked over to Waterloo station to catch a train out to Windsor. We had only bought three days of Tube passes so we had saved Windsor and Hampton Court for the last day since they required use of British Rail. We got our tickets and boarded our train around 8:30 AM, giving us plenty of time to get out to Windsor.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle was a bit of a hike uphill from where the train from Waterloo had left us, and with memories of our uphill climb at Greenwich still fresh in our memories, we steeled ourselves and mounted the sidewalk up to the castle. Once inside, we picked up audio guides to the castle and began touring the outside of the building.

After the outside tour, we headed inside, where cameras were not allowed to be used. The first interior room we visited houses Queen Mary's Dolls' House, a huge doll house that takes up an entire room and which was a big thrill for Rebecca. After that, we went into the Drawings Gallery, where they had an exhibit telling the story of five royal weddings through photographs, documents from the Royal Archives, memorabilia and personal gifts exchanged by members of the Royal Family. After this, we toured the State rooms, filled with portraits from the Royal Collection as well as numerous other works of art. Our visit ended in the room where the fire occurred in 1992 that damaged over 100 rooms.

Fuzzy Dudes

We headed back outside after that, and had the opportunity to watch the Guards practicing and playing instruments. Alexander, in his typical teenage American fashion, had nicknamed these guys "Fuzzy Dudes" before we came over, so we were all excited to have a real, authentic "Fuzzy Dude" sighting and picture opportunity.

Our tour concluded with a visit to St. George's Chapel, the place of worship on the grounds of Windsor Castle and the place where Prince Charles remarried a few years ago. We visited the tombs of past Kings and Queens and learned about the Order of the Garter. Each of the knights is assigned a stall in the chapel choir above which his shield, sword and crown are placed along with a stall plate attached to the back of the stall displaying its member's name, arms and date of installation. On a member's death, the stall plates are kept, meaning each stall is decorated with the names of the members dating back hundreds of years.