Day 20 - Oxford, Windsor, and "Home"

May 21, 2008

Well, after many days away, we made it back "home" safely to Highams Park, London. We arrive just after 8:00pm to the smiling faces of Gillian and Charlotte (it really did feel like we were coming home after being away for 2 weeks; Mike is away at church helping with some technical things so we haven't seen him yet).

It's been a little while since my last post, as you may have noticed, so I do have a lot of catching up to do and it may take me a little while but I will do my best with the time I have. Just make sure to look back for "older" posts as I will postdate them to keep everything in order (it will appear as if I wrote them on the day it was written about even though I will be actually writing the post now or in the near future - hope that isn't too confusing).

Today we woke up just outside of Oxford at our last B&B. We woke and and went downstairs for our 8:30am breakfast. The breakfast room overlooked the back garden which was very lovely. There were already other guests in there (and others who had already finished so we never saw them) as we took our seats.

The breakfast was wonderful and one of the best we had had the whole trip. It was anything extraordinary but it tasted really good and was just what we needed to last us through until dinner time (we discovered we could save some money and time if we just waited until dinner to eat our next meal and for the most part that worked well for us).

As our meal was winding down, there was a family of 4 at a table nearby that were also from America (could tell by the accent). After a bit, the husband and younger daughter left the table and the mother and older daughter remained. I decided to ask them where they were from and they said Cincinatti. We told them where we were from and started chatting.

They were very lovely people and it was fun to talk with them (Mike just walked in so I'm going to say Hi...okay, I'm back now). We shared some of our experiences about the activities we did the day before as they were thinking about doing them as well. We had a great time talking and before we knew it, it was already 10:15am and checkout was at 10:30, plus we had plenty we wanted to do during the day.

We got back in to the room and finished getting ready as well as finished packing (can you see a trend yet with our morning routine? :) ). I went downstairs to pay our bill and the owner helped me find a good park and ride station for going into Oxford.

We got in the car after saying our goodbyes and headed off to the City Centre. On our way, we stopped to get gas and asked where a car wash with a vacuum cleaner was as we wanted to make sure we brought back a clean car to the Hambletons (and boy did it need it as the car was the last thing many bugs saw in the last moments of their life). Just a 100 yards away or so there was another gas station with one so we stopped there. We got the car washed through the machine thing, then vacuumed it and wiped off the bugs that didn't come off in the wash, and then sent it through again for a final cleaning. It defintely looked a lot better than it did.

We got back on the road and by this time it was 12:00pm. We decided that we would park at the same car park as we did the night before as the park and ride would take us 15 minutes each way to get in to the city plus it would cost more and we were running out of time as we were also trying to squeeze in Windsor Castle.

As we were driving in towards the car park, we then made the decision, since it was getting so late, to just drive through the city and see it that way instead of getting out and walking around. It took a few turns, but we finally made it to a pretty central spot and I took lots of pictures while Jeremiah drove. It was a good quick way to see more of the city but when we come back and have more time, we will definitely get out and walk around to see more.

Then we headed off to Windsor Castle. It took just under an hour to get there. As we drove up to it it was amazing! I can see why the Queen still uses this place as one of her homes. I would if I could! The outside is so magnificent and looks so strong and beautiful.

We found a car park but quickly left it as they want over £7 for 3 hours and we wanted to stay for around 4 and there was no way we were going to pay that much for it. So we drove just down the street and found another car park that wanted around £2.90 for 4 hours and we parked there instead. It was actually nicer parking here as we were able to see more of the castle on our walk up to the entrance.

We took some pictures of the outside and then found the place to buy tickets (around £14 each). I also bought a guide with our tickets because I knew you couldn't take pictures of the inside and I was pretty sure that was something I was going to want to look at again later on.

We walked inside and got our free audio sets for the audio tour and listened to the first track. I then saw that a tour was going to start soon with a warden so we stuck around for 5 minutes until that started. A warden came up and after waiting a little bit she introduced herself (Lorna) and started our private tour (no one else came for the tour so it was just Jeremiah and me - very cool!)

She took us through different areas and told us the history or the uniqueness of that area or part of a building. And, although you could probably hear much of what she said on the first few tracks of the audio guide, we really enjoyed this tour and were able to ask lots of questions. She showed us where as the restoration of pieces for all the palaces and castles takes place and told us that in there is a sleigh that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert would take with them on Holiday in the mountains to go sledding. It's unfortunate that it's not on display as well.

There was a moat dug around the round tower but instead of water being in it, there was a beautiful garden. And apparently, there had never been water in this moat as it leaked! Rather interesting. The castle had been under attack twice in its life, once by Prince John and once by the French - neither did much damage to it. Lorna took us to the entrance to the State Apartments (the part where you actually get to walk in to the Castle rooms) and then said goodbye.

We walked inside and you first get to see a minature doll house presented to Queen Anne by Queen Victoria's great granddaughter. Although it was minature, it was rather large. Everything was done to scale and there were real electrical lights in it as well as functioning plumbing! It was pretty amazing.

Then we walked into the area where many guests of the castle first enter when they come for a visit or an event. You go up some stairs into a room that is filled with armor, weaponry, and crowns that have been collected over the years. It was pretty spectacular. There was a 4 barrel shotgun; a rifle with a heart-shaped barrel; the lock to one of the kings traveling cases that, if you put the key in the wrong hole, you would get shot with two small consealed pistols - when the maker of this lock tested it out, he forgot he had loaded the guns and ended up killing himself; and a gun from the Revolutionary War captured by the English - it was from Kentucky I believe. In this room there was also a statue of Queen Victoria and on the fireplace in the room, here initials where on it and that is actually the only place in the whole castle with her initials.

Then you walk into the Waterloo Room which is actually a dining room - very magnificient as well - with paintings all over the walls of all the men who helped in that battle. After this you go through a series of rooms that are for the King and Queen (their drawing rooms, bedroom, dressing room, ballroom, reception rooms, and guard room). They were all very beautiful and covered in great paintings and portraits. We took our time looking through all these rooms.

Then you were led into St. George's Hall where they took five years in the '90s to restore this room among others after a fire in the castle in 1992. We saw pictures of the room immediately after the fire had happened and it was amazing to see how they had restored the room after so much damage. This room was also very amazing and they showed on a TV what the room looked like with the dining table that seats 160 guests looks like in that room when they use it for events. Then you walk into an octagonal room that connects the public state rooms with the private state rooms. In this room, the fire orginated and I believe it was completely destroyed. But they restored it as well but with some modern aspects and added the connection to the private state rooms.

Oh, I should mention that although the fire destroyed a lot, they wre able to save just about everything that was in there (everything that wasn't too heavy to move) and the busts and armor that is on display in that room had already been taken out as they were being cleaned or refurbished. This is a very good thing as one of the busts was the death mask (that's what I think it was called) of Queen Victoria (they took the mold of her right after she had died and made this bust out of it). Through the fire and the restoration, they undercover on a sofa an enscription that stated that "on this sofa died the Duchess of Kent" (Queen Victoria's mother). So that was a really neat discovery.

Then you walked into another room that I believe was a sort of reception room. Then you walk into a room specifically for things relating to the Order of the Garter. It was beautiful as well. The next room over was the Waterloo Room again and then you start to exit. Everything was so beautiful and I tried to imagine what it would have been like to have been a monarch way back when and to have lived in those rooms.

We then left the building and only had about 1/2 hour before the grounds closed so we hurried over to St. George's Chapel only to find out that it had closed at 4:00pm. We found a place to sit and we listened to some of the audio we had not yet heard. As we were listening to the part about the guards that were guarding the castle, they happened to be changing the guards right then. We took more pictures and then I saw that the doors to the chapel had opened and that people were going inside. As I got to the door, there was a sign that said it was only open to those coming for the evening prayers so I stood at the door and just tried to peak a little (it was a little hard as one of the Brothers kept saying that I could not enter unless I was coming for the prayers and I was just trying to tell him that I knew that but that I was just trying to take a little peak - he didn't seem to understand). Miah came over and we each got to see a little of the stained glass windows on the inside.

Then I filled out a form for each of us that would give us unlimited access to the Castle for one year. (Thought it would be better to do it than not as a just in case...who knows when we will next be here.) We turned in our guides and got our forms officiated and then left.

I then went in to a souveneer shop and bought a postcard of the castle so that I could get change. We walked back to the car park and put in enough money for one more hour. Then we walked back towards the castle and went inside a Pizza Hut for dinner.

We had a good dinner and then stopped on the way back to our car for a little ice cream. This was some of the best soft serve ice cream I've ever had! It tasted like cream and was so smooth. We both enjoyed it a lot.

We then headed in our car to the Hambletons. After a little bit, I soon discovered that instead of the GPS taking us on the main Motorway around London (the M25) it was taking us closer to the heart of London on a smaller highway that also circled London. We decided to trust it instead of back-tracking and it actually worked out pretty well. There were some spots with traffic and you couldn't drive as fast as the motorway, but I think it got us there pretty quickly and Mike had told us that the Motorway could be pretty backed up until after 8pm.

We stopped at a nearby gas station for one last top off and then drove a mile back "home." It feels good to be back but also kind of sad as this is signaling the end of our trip, but we still do have another full day left and we will make the most of it!

Well, it's getting late...almost 11:15pm so I had better get to bed to get some rest so we can get an early start tomorrow.

I will try to write again and to make some posts on the last week's adventures but I'm not sure exactly when that will be.

Until later and with love,
S&J