We were told that the Queen likes to stay here on the weekends and since her flag was flying over the palace, we knew that she was there on the day that we were. Of course, we didn't actually get to see her, but it was cool to know that she was so close anyway.
The tour begins with a look around the outsides of the buildings, as massive as they are and they you gradually make your way to the interior, where you can actually tour some of the Royal Apartments. It is really cool to see how some of the past Royalty lived. And let me tell you, they lived it extravagantly!
Views of the exterior of Windsor Castle
They had rooms upon rooms of furniture, china sets and portraits. There were even a couple of rooms filled with weapons, and when I say filled with weapons, I mean FILLED with weapons. There were guns hung up in patterns on the wall and display cases of swords covered in jewels...crazy stuff.
We also saw this amazingly huge doll house, that included working plumbing and electricity. It was enormous and all the little rooms were so detailed. It's crazy to me what being rich and powerful can get you...when this doll house was built many of the PEOPLE in England might not have had indoor plumbing but this doll house did! Unfortunately, pictures weren't allowed inside the apartments so you cannot share in the interior styling of Royalty, as I experienced it.
We ended the tour in the onsite chapel, where many of the Royal Family have been buried over the years, including the current Queen's parents and sister. It was a very interesting place of worship. Like many older chapels, the ceiling is extremely beautiful and full of small details.
The Chapel
It took us quite a long time to get through the entire site, but it was a great way to spend a Saturday. We did some shopping afterwards, but otherwise we went home very satisfied by the way we spent our day.
While Windsor was fun, we spent this weekend at Bath in England and it was even more fabulous! This trip was sponsored by Central, which meant that our entire program went. It was a really great trip, made even more great by the fact that I didn't have to put any thought into the planning of the trip. I have come to realize that I am not a planner, so needless to say it was really nice to just show up.
On our way to Bath we stopped Dyrham Park. This is basically just a huge house on a really large property that you can tour. The rooms were all decorated as they would have been in the 1700s. It was a giant house (so many rooms to see!) and there was a lot of land that you could walk around and explore as well. And of course there was a church attached to the property (it seems like everywhere you go in Europe there is a church), but my favorite things were the flowering plants outside, which was near a pond. It was really pretty, so nice to see flowers before Spring officially starts!
On our way to Bath we stopped Dyrham Park. This is basically just a huge house on a really large property that you can tour. The rooms were all decorated as they would have been in the 1700s. It was a giant house (so many rooms to see!) and there was a lot of land that you could walk around and explore as well. And of course there was a church attached to the property (it seems like everywhere you go in Europe there is a church), but my favorite things were the flowering plants outside, which was near a pond. It was really pretty, so nice to see flowers before Spring officially starts!
The exterior of the house at Dyrham Park
Inside the house
Here is the pretty pond outside the house...
We arrived in Bath on Friday morning at the YMCA we would be staying at for our time there. I have always thought of YMCAs as a little sketch (especially after seeing the one in Clinton...), but this one was actually really nice. We didn't even have to stay in dormitory style rooms, like you do at many other hostels.
After getting settled in, we went on a tour of the Roman baths. It was really cool and these were just the ruins. I can't even imagine how great the baths would have been at its height. There were so many rooms, and we also go audio tours here as well, which was really nice, if not really overwhelming with the amount of information that we got.
There is still water in the 'baths' but is green with algae and it doesn't look all that fun to swim in, but one of the pools is naturally heated. It looked like a hot tub and I'm sure it would have been lovely to swim in during Roman times. I'm sure I learned tons of stuff during my time there, but I really can't remember any of it...it was fun any how!
The Green Pools
Some of the sights inside the baths
On Saturday, we were free to do whatever we pleased. So we decided since we were so close we would take a trip to Stonehenge. It was only about an hour away and for the ride we got great views of the countryside around Bath. Once we arrived it was a different story. I think that Stonehenge is a place you should visit once, just to appreciate the sheer magnitude of it, but its not really necessary to ever visit again.
Stonehenge...
I don't really know what I was expecting but it was a bunch of GIANT stones, stuck in the ground in order for ancient peoples to keep a 'calendar' of sorts. While, it was really large and wondering how the stones were positioned that way was a puzzler, there wasn't really a lot that you could actually do at the site.
There is a roped off path around the stones, and you can listen to some facts about it (many tourists choose not to apparently...), but all you can really do is walk around and take a million pictures of every angle of the site. I think I probably have near 100 in all, just because thats ALL we did. I'm glad we went, but after 5 minutes it kind of stops being that interesting...
and more Stonehenge.
After we got back to Bath, we did still more sightseeing. Central provided us with bus tickets, where we could take 2 tours around Bath, while receiving commentary from a guide. We went on both tours, and it was really nice to just sit and see all the main attractions in the city. This took most of the day, and of course gave me even more opportunities to take pictures (if you're wondering, I took about 500 pictures in total). It was a nice way to spend the day, but surprisingly really tiring. On these trips we learn tons of facts, most of which I immediately forget, but its nice to say I've been there.
Some of the city sights we saw on our bus tours.
Today, on the last day of our trip we visited the village of Lacock. The entire village is protected by the National Trust, which means that barely any changes can be made to existing structures. This gives you the feeling of being back in the 1800s (except of course, for all the really nice, new cars on the street). In the village is a large Abbey, which we toured and this would have been similar to many other old houses that we have visited except for one thing...Harry Potter was filmed there! Wow.
Harry Potter was here!
After this tour ended, we were free to explore the rest of the small town. There were lots of cute restaurants and shops to check out. One sold 100s of different smelling soaps, it was sensory overload! But the highlight of the afternoon was trying clotted cream. You would eat this on a scone while drinking tea, which I did. So British. The cream was delicious, it was like butter but sweeter, so better. Yum. It was a great way to the end the weekend, which I would say was pretty great.
Houses in the Village of Lacock
Now all I have to do is get through the rest of the week and then my mother comes and it is off to Ireland! Can't wait!
Emily
really enjoying your posts and pics, Emily! I am visiting London, etc. through your eyes. I hope to get there some day! Have fun with your mom! Glad you are both getting to do this! Have fun, be safe! Aunt Kathy
ReplyDelete