Day 2 - August 5, 2006
Our latest adventure had us experiencing the beautiful English countryside in the Cotswold's. We both loved the area and are looking forward to going back someday soon! What we expected to see and do in England weren't quite in line with what we wound up doing but it was a full and wonderful holiday!
The weather on the trip was sunny, warm, and wonderful. Temperatures during the day were in the high 70s to low 80s for most of the week. It only rained one day while we were biking and it rained on us in London, our last full day in England. Otherwise, we fully enjoyed the period of drought that England is in the midst of.
Our adventure began the afternoon of August 4th as we flew from Pittsburgh to Dulles, then on to Heathrow in London. We were on an overnight flight over the Atlantic and arrived to a bright sunny morning. The good tail-wind we caught over the ocean had us arriving an hour early. Dave was tired to begin with since he can't sleep on planes and we were both dragging. The gentleman from VBT met us at the airport and we waited for the other couple he was picking up to arrive. The time gave us a few minutes to do some people-watching and begin to see the very diverse culture that resides in London.
We met up with Ramsey and Mark, another couple on the tour, and headed to Windsor to check in. The driver indulged us a bit by going the scenic route, with views of the Queens farm, as well as the Thames, and other notable parts of town. Not surprisingly, the castle walls are visible from almost any point in town. We progressed on to the Royal Adelaide Hotel, where we checked in and waved goodbye to our driver. When our room wasn't ready, we left our bags with the desk and began our exploration of the town.
We headed out to door of the hotel, across the street and entered the Long Walk, Windsor Great Park, a park that leads almost 3 miles, one end at Windsor castle, the other a statue of George III on Snow Hill. As we headed up toward the castle, we couldn't figure out why there wasn't anyone around. It wasn't until we looked at our watches and discovered that it wasn't even 9 a.m. We laughed at ourselves and proceeded to enjoy having the area to ourselves. To us, Friday and Saturday pretty much blurred into one very long day.
Our first stop was Windsor Castle, where we waited in the queue for it to open. You would think there was a Wal-mart type sale the way people were rushing in there the minute they opened the gates. We got our audio tour player and maps and followed that around the castle. The tour section lasted about 2 hours. We were there pretty early so we were able to see a lot of the areas and get some good pictures without anyone in them. We also toured the State Apartments that were open, saw Queen Mary's dollhouse (which was built and furnished as a display item, not a toy--it also has working electricity and running water!), the dolls, and a collection of photographs in honor of the Queen's 80th birthday. In addition, the state apartments were filled with military regalia, beautiful artwork and portraits, and many historical antiques. The rooms were lavishly furnished and on a rather grand scale. Once we headed back outside, we stopped to admire the moat garden, tour St. George's Chapel, and of course, the souvenir shops. We both tired of the tour and were ready to head back to the hotel for a rest. But first, we were distracted by seeing the changing of the guards on the palace grounds.
Luckily, when we got back to our hotel, our room was ready--except, as tired as Dave was, he had to lug our suitcases up several flights of very narrow staircases. The Royal Adelaide was nice but it combined about 3 different residences to make the hotel and I think we went up the steps in all 3 buildings to get to our room. You went up about 5 steps, turned and went up the rest of those steps, walked about 4 feet down a hall, through a doorway and up another flight of steps, turn a corner, take another 4 stairs, through another door, and finally we made it to our room. (Dave was much better at finding his way out of this place too.) Obviously we weren't the only ones who had trouble with the narrowness and the luggage--the broken halves of a baluster hung in evidence of someone else's struggle. Once in the room, we were able to change and rest for a few minutes before heading out again.
After our short rest, we hit the pavement again walking and walking. We actually got to know Windsor pretty well as we explored. We stopped for lunch at "The Crooked House," next to the guildhall. It was quite crooked--except the windows. We aren't sure if it was built that was as a novelty or not. The little tables set around the outside of the building were a charming place to enjoy our sandwiches. I was also happy to see that tea was on the menus at almost all of the pubs there. We ordered a full meal instead. While waiting for our food to be served, we looked around the alley and noticed that nearby was Moorcroft Pottery just across the street. After lunch we made a quick stop but didn't get to talk much as the owners were very involved with a customer and rather busy.
Our next venture took us to the shopping districts. We passed the old train station, a beautifully preserved (restored) Victorian design. The beautiful wood buildings were protected from the weather by arcade-type roof constructed over them. I have to mention that we stopped for soft-serve ice cream here, a wonderful way to ease the heat of the day.
We continued away from the castle, down toward the River Thames. The stores here were mostly souvenir shops, along with the token McDonalds, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut--none of which we were even tempted to stop into.
We crossed the bridge over the Thames into Eton. Whereas Windsor seemed touristy and commercial, this was touristy and classy. The shops were mostly antique stores with a few small businesses mixed in. The buildings were centuries old and beautifully maintained and the town had such a wonderful quaint feel about it.
We wandered toward Eton but were both too tired to tour it so we turned around and headed back to Windsor, to tired to even want dinner. After a quick call to Mom and Dad to let them know we were here and fine, we headed to bed--and were asleep by 6:30. Yup, we are the brave adventurers, aren't we? What a way to start the vacation. (Now I remember why we slept through New Years in NZ!)
At about 8:30, Dave woke up. Because it was light out, he couldn't figure out if it was 8:30 a.m. or p.m. He was so confused as to whether it was morning or night. I assured him it was night and went right back to sleep. We actually slept for 12 hours! At least we were rested for the start of the tour.
Our latest adventure had us experiencing the beautiful English countryside in the Cotswold's. We both loved the area and are looking forward to going back someday soon! What we expected to see and do in England weren't quite in line with what we wound up doing but it was a full and wonderful holiday!
The weather on the trip was sunny, warm, and wonderful. Temperatures during the day were in the high 70s to low 80s for most of the week. It only rained one day while we were biking and it rained on us in London, our last full day in England. Otherwise, we fully enjoyed the period of drought that England is in the midst of.
Our adventure began the afternoon of August 4th as we flew from Pittsburgh to Dulles, then on to Heathrow in London. We were on an overnight flight over the Atlantic and arrived to a bright sunny morning. The good tail-wind we caught over the ocean had us arriving an hour early. Dave was tired to begin with since he can't sleep on planes and we were both dragging. The gentleman from VBT met us at the airport and we waited for the other couple he was picking up to arrive. The time gave us a few minutes to do some people-watching and begin to see the very diverse culture that resides in London.
We met up with Ramsey and Mark, another couple on the tour, and headed to Windsor to check in. The driver indulged us a bit by going the scenic route, with views of the Queens farm, as well as the Thames, and other notable parts of town. Not surprisingly, the castle walls are visible from almost any point in town. We progressed on to the Royal Adelaide Hotel, where we checked in and waved goodbye to our driver. When our room wasn't ready, we left our bags with the desk and began our exploration of the town.
We headed out to door of the hotel, across the street and entered the Long Walk, Windsor Great Park, a park that leads almost 3 miles, one end at Windsor castle, the other a statue of George III on Snow Hill. As we headed up toward the castle, we couldn't figure out why there wasn't anyone around. It wasn't until we looked at our watches and discovered that it wasn't even 9 a.m. We laughed at ourselves and proceeded to enjoy having the area to ourselves. To us, Friday and Saturday pretty much blurred into one very long day.
Our first stop was Windsor Castle, where we waited in the queue for it to open. You would think there was a Wal-mart type sale the way people were rushing in there the minute they opened the gates. We got our audio tour player and maps and followed that around the castle. The tour section lasted about 2 hours. We were there pretty early so we were able to see a lot of the areas and get some good pictures without anyone in them. We also toured the State Apartments that were open, saw Queen Mary's dollhouse (which was built and furnished as a display item, not a toy--it also has working electricity and running water!), the dolls, and a collection of photographs in honor of the Queen's 80th birthday. In addition, the state apartments were filled with military regalia, beautiful artwork and portraits, and many historical antiques. The rooms were lavishly furnished and on a rather grand scale. Once we headed back outside, we stopped to admire the moat garden, tour St. George's Chapel, and of course, the souvenir shops. We both tired of the tour and were ready to head back to the hotel for a rest. But first, we were distracted by seeing the changing of the guards on the palace grounds.
Luckily, when we got back to our hotel, our room was ready--except, as tired as Dave was, he had to lug our suitcases up several flights of very narrow staircases. The Royal Adelaide was nice but it combined about 3 different residences to make the hotel and I think we went up the steps in all 3 buildings to get to our room. You went up about 5 steps, turned and went up the rest of those steps, walked about 4 feet down a hall, through a doorway and up another flight of steps, turn a corner, take another 4 stairs, through another door, and finally we made it to our room. (Dave was much better at finding his way out of this place too.) Obviously we weren't the only ones who had trouble with the narrowness and the luggage--the broken halves of a baluster hung in evidence of someone else's struggle. Once in the room, we were able to change and rest for a few minutes before heading out again.
After our short rest, we hit the pavement again walking and walking. We actually got to know Windsor pretty well as we explored. We stopped for lunch at "The Crooked House," next to the guildhall. It was quite crooked--except the windows. We aren't sure if it was built that was as a novelty or not. The little tables set around the outside of the building were a charming place to enjoy our sandwiches. I was also happy to see that tea was on the menus at almost all of the pubs there. We ordered a full meal instead. While waiting for our food to be served, we looked around the alley and noticed that nearby was Moorcroft Pottery just across the street. After lunch we made a quick stop but didn't get to talk much as the owners were very involved with a customer and rather busy.
Our next venture took us to the shopping districts. We passed the old train station, a beautifully preserved (restored) Victorian design. The beautiful wood buildings were protected from the weather by arcade-type roof constructed over them. I have to mention that we stopped for soft-serve ice cream here, a wonderful way to ease the heat of the day.
We continued away from the castle, down toward the River Thames. The stores here were mostly souvenir shops, along with the token McDonalds, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut--none of which we were even tempted to stop into.
We crossed the bridge over the Thames into Eton. Whereas Windsor seemed touristy and commercial, this was touristy and classy. The shops were mostly antique stores with a few small businesses mixed in. The buildings were centuries old and beautifully maintained and the town had such a wonderful quaint feel about it.
We wandered toward Eton but were both too tired to tour it so we turned around and headed back to Windsor, to tired to even want dinner. After a quick call to Mom and Dad to let them know we were here and fine, we headed to bed--and were asleep by 6:30. Yup, we are the brave adventurers, aren't we? What a way to start the vacation. (Now I remember why we slept through New Years in NZ!)
At about 8:30, Dave woke up. Because it was light out, he couldn't figure out if it was 8:30 a.m. or p.m. He was so confused as to whether it was morning or night. I assured him it was night and went right back to sleep. We actually slept for 12 hours! At least we were rested for the start of the tour.
Hotel Royal Adelaide