Windsor Castle

We finally took a day trip to Windsor Castle. 

The castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A Royal home and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today.  The Queen uses the Castle both as a private home, where she usually spends the weekend, and as a Royal residence at which she undertakes certain formal duties.   By the way, did you know that the Queen married her third cousin? Yep, sure did!

We took the Green Line bus to Windsor and the to and from could not have been any easier.  We hopped on the bus down the street from where we live and off we go...  An hour or so later we were dropped off just a few steps from the castle entrance.  So easy!!

It had been a crazy week and we were both tired, but went anyways.  I had it on my "to do" list to buy the tickets in advance. HA!  We arrived at the entrance and saw the 200+ people standing in line and I quickly remembered that I forgot to buy the tickets. OOPS!!  SOOOO when YOU go make sure you buy your admission tickets in advance.  It can be done online.  By the way, your ticket is good for an entire YEAR!  So go back as often as you like!

It was a nasty day with off and on showers so when we made it to the line to enter the famous dollhouse we skipped it. I know! I know! Shame on us, but it was cold and pouring down rain AND we did NOT have an umbrella... So we saw everything else and just skipped the dollhouse which I hear was an awful thing to do, but apparently it is a MUST see.  Maybe next time!

The castle is amazing.  So big, so pretty, so detailed, and so in the middle of the town of Windsor.  It being smack dab in the heart of Windsor cracked me up.  It just seemed a bit odd.

Would I want to live there? No, for me, its just simply too much stuff. I'd be getting rid of stuff left and right.  They'd kick me out for sure.

Is it worth a day trip? Yes, it is a great relaxed day trip. Just don't forget to buy your admission tickets in advance.

How's the shopping in Windsor? Well... I didn't see any stores that aren't already in London so I decided not to waste my time shopping in stores that I already have access too.
It is a very cute town though and definitely worth a stroll around...

Are you allowed to take pictures inside? NO

Here are some pictures of Windsor Castle:

Windsor Castle

The Tower

The Chapel

American in-laws in London

The in-laws have come and gone. Another successful trip. Food, drinks, fun and more food.

What did we do?

Thursday: We hung out at the flat... let them get settled (unloaded all the American items that we requested ~ Thank you!) and then for dinner we went to a cute Italian restaurant just a stones throw from our place. We had a lovely dinner outside on their patio.

thinking by the water

Friday: Up and at'em! There is little playing around when I have a day planned.  I planned a nice little outing to Borough Market (a food market) we wandered around there, ate, checked out the Globe Theater and then landed our tails in a few seats by the water for a mid-day adult beverage in the sunshine.  That night we had dinner by the water at a cute pop-up restaurant called The Summerhouse in Little Venice. The food was beautiful, but they need to work on the taste of it.  I did NOT want to eat mine.  LOVED the atmosphere though! Very cute place and being by the water was really nice.

The Summerhouse

Risotto Cakes at The Summerhouse ~ Not as good as it looks.

Saturday: Lazy morning, take-away for lunch and then off to the "Meet the in-law pub social" with our London friends at the adorable Windsor Castle in Kensington (rumor has it Thomas Paines bones are buried in the basement) We were able to score a great corner spot in their garden which was terrific because believe it or not it was a beautiful day.  We started at 2pm and at one point our friend Maraya thought it would be a good idea if we all did Jager shots for my mother in laws upcoming birthday. You don't have to be a genius to know what happened next. The planned time frame was 2-4pm-ish... At 6:50pm we had to pull my husband from the pub due to 7pm dinner reservations for his Mom's birthday dinner at L'Etranger (not so sure they like jeans there, they were a bit rude at times and really pushing us out the door even though we were ordering a ton of stuff) Later, we get home and my husband turns into a dancing machine.  He was dancing on the ceiling like Lionel Ritchie. Very cute.

The gang at Windsor Castle, Kensington

Sunday: Today was Mike's turn to plan the agenda, but somehow after lunch he did not follow through with his plan. They were suppose to go to Tate Modern or London Eye... Instead, they went to the grocery store with me and then hung out at home for the rest of the evening.

Happy Birthday Sandra

Monday: Happy Birthday San!  I planned a personal shopper experience at House of Fraser on Oxford Street for San. No minimum spend and you get a fabulous suite all to yourself for 3 hours oh yeah and a shopper to help you (even though he kept taking a call every 15 minutes).  3.5 hours and a mountain of tried on clothes later she walked out of there with some very cute stuff!  Then Mike Sr. met up with us for a fabulous birthday lunch at Aubaine (one of my favorites!).  Later that day... San and I had to run an errand so Mike Jr. and Mike Sr. were put in charge of dinner.  They did a great job.

Birthday Personal Shopper Day

Tuesday: 10am in-law departure. Back to the States they go.

Safe Travels!