Fit for a Queen

Taken from inside the Castle courtyard

This weekend we took our first getaway in the English countryside! We left by bus Saturday and headed to Windsor. Located about an hour from central London, the town is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland and the Royal Theater. We'd booked two rooms at a local bed and breakfast that was recommended by my UK guide book which turned out to be wonderful! It is run by a woman whose son lives in San Francisco and daughter lives in New Zealand: I think my mom and her bonded from both having children living so far away from home : )

The castle is located in the heart of town

Our first stop was Windsor Castle which is the Queen's official residence and the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. It is almost 1000 years old and covers 13 acres. We were able to tour most of the castle besides the Queen's area of residence including:

• The staterooms - these were gorgeous; gold, silver and marble adorned rooms with tons of history
• Queen Mary's dolls house - it has working plumbing and electricity... Really Mary?!?
• The Drawings Gallery - who knew Prince Charles painted with water colors
• St. George's castle which has the tomb of Queen Elizabeth's parents - movie buffs, think the King's speech

Afterwards, we shopped and ate dinner at an amazing restaurant called Bel and the Dragon. Aaron's coworkers had recommended it and we are glad they did!

The Long Walk... looks long indeed!

Finally we headed to the Royal Windsor Theater to see Miracle on 34th Street, the musical. Yes, I said musical. This amazing, holiday classic should not have been turned into song: the musical breakouts were awkward and the plot felt rushed. To give you an idea of how it was, my mom nodded off for a minute in the first half and Aaron asked if we could leave during intermission - okay, so maybe it wasn't my best idea. But the highlight was during intermission when, I'm not kidding you, I counted 21 people eating small tubs of ice cream. Everyone from children to adults to grandparents were digging into these little tubs. Apparently ice cream at plays in the winter is huge here!! We were in shock. But obviously they knew something we didn't know and were stocking up on sugar to stay awake for the second half : )

The next day we saw the start of the Long Walk, a 2.6 mile path that also leads to the Queen's entrance to Windsor Castle, before heading home. Although we didn't see the Queen, it was a great trip... and there's always next time!