Windsor

The town of Windsor is not too far outside of London, and has the oldest, still inhabited castle.  This is currently one of the main homes of Queen Elizabeth II and her family: Windsor Castle!  Alison and I decided to venture out there for the day.

We left London from Paddington Station, who also has a very famous and iconic inhabitant.  A small, fuzzy, primary colored one.  Paddington Bear!

 

  

We got off the train in Windsor, and the castle was immediately obvious.  So I don't quite know why this sign was necessary... but it did make me laugh.

 

Given the size of the two palaces that I have really visited here in England, Westminster Palace and Buckingham Palace, I assumed that it would be the same.  Quickly, I learned that a castle is much larger and more ornate.  This one, too, is quite old.  It was built by William the Conqueror, the Norman King who conquered the Anglo-Saxons in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings.  Parts of the castle date back to that time, evident from the small archer windows and the very old Roman or Norman style architecture.  However, other parts have been added on since then as styles changed, from Gothic, Elizabethan, to Neogothic Victorian.  Those were the most prominent styles that I noticed.  The grounds were beautiful- strange plant life dotted the manmade hills surrounding the main section of the castle.  We toured the inside as well.  The only place that I had ever seen that kind of opulence before was the Palace at Versailles.  Marble House in Newport, Rhode Island came close, but was a much smaller building.  Plus, it didn't have an armory room with like two hundred and fifty swords.  I kid you not, they were everywhere.  Seven hundred year old weapons were scattered around the walls in elaborate designs, as if each one wasn't probably worth about five million dollars.  The opulence was a little bit more tasteful and subdued, though, than Versailles.  This may be because a large portion of the indoors of Windsor Castle burnt down in 1992 when a fire started in a small atrium filled with gas lamps.  It was refurbished by 1997, but some things were toned down.  Anyways, photographs were not allowed indoors, but I got some nice ones of the outside of the castle.

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

  

The surrounding town of Windsor was adorable too.  The streets were tiny and almost none of them allowed cars.  Pedestrians were swarming everywhere.  Right near the castle, all of the buildings were very old, and all of the establishments looked as if they had been there for centuries.  A few dated back to the 1500's. 

 

While in this section of town, which was decidedly my favourite, we went to a pub for a late lunch.  I finally had a proper English pie.  Twas mushroom, and twas fantastic. 

The rest of town was more like an outlet center- except they weren't outlets.  Every major English (and American) chain store was in Windsor.  Topshop, H&M, Gap... the list goes on.  The buildings were old and fascinating, but the stores were way too familiar to interest me into them.  The carousel was interesting enough, but by the time I had seriously considered going for a ride, it closed for the day.

  

 

Squirrel!

 

This squirrel tried to become my new best friend today.  I was in St. James Park, just on the side of Buckingham Palace, where the animals are all hyperactive and love tourists.  Not only are they not skittish, they are not docile, they are performing for you.  They know you might give them peanuts and take your picture. The squirrels may jump on you, the geese might chase you, and the swans will walk right up to you.  Over 30 different kinds of birds inhabit St. James Park, and many of them, being of English origin, I had never seen before.  This included the stunningly beautiful black swan.  There were canadian geese, pidgeons, swans, about ten different kinds of ducks, herons, many kinds of geese... the list goes on.  My favourite was a very charming black swan.  I did not even know that they actually existed.  They were all really friendly, so I got some close shots.  Have a gander.  (Get it? Gander?...)

 

  

 

 

The general scenery was quite lovely as well, especially given the London sunset.  Sunsets seem significantly more impressive here.  I don't know if they actually are, or whether I am just easily impressed and happy to be in Europe.That's Buckingham Palace and the Horse Guard building (I can't recall the name) in the background of some of these.

 

  

  

  

I forgot to post these pictures on thursday.... but on thursday I went back to the British Museum and looked at the China, Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan galleries.  They were amazing and there was almost no one else in them, which I found to be odd. I went in the gallery with the mummies and it was absolutely packed. There were schoolchildren in uniform everywhere. But, I liked the Asian galleries significantly better, so I just went back and spent more time in those.  Museums full of people just are not particularly appealing to me- I like to be more alone with the artwork so that I can take it all in silently.  The best thing about the Asian galleries is the zen feel.  Buddha and Ganesh were quite calming.

 

  

  

  

 

Wizard, You Shall Not Pass

Is one of the most famous Lord of the Rings quotes.  I had the pleasure, on thursday, of seeing that most famous grey and white wizard live and in person.  I am talking, of course, about Sir Ian McKellan.  It was a dream come true for me.  He is currently in a recently opened West End revivial of Waiting for Godot.  The production was amazing, and he is truly an inspiration to everyone who practices theatre.  I was awed and feel very motivated.

 

 

Westminster Abbey Calls

Yesterday, I went to Westminster Abbey with my Renaissance Art class.  For those of you who are interested, that means I got in for free.  Win.

Westminster Abbey was stunning.  The architecture ranges from a twelfth century Norman monastery to elaborate Victorian neogothic statuary.  Buried here lie many old kings and queens of Britain including St. Edward the Confessor, Queen Elizabeth I, Richard II and Mary, Queen of Scots.  Monuments are all around the church commemorating monarchs, peers of the realm, politicians, and famous contributors to society.  These include Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Alfred Tennyson and Oliver Cromwell.

It is actually against the rules to take pictures within Westminster Abbey. I found this out after taking about twenty-five pictures.  So please, enjoy my illegal photography.  The photos of the exterior, however, are completely legal.  Just a reminder that all photographs on this site are mine unless otherwise noted.

 

 

  

 

Now, right across the street from Westminster Abbey is Westminter Palace, more commonly known as Parliament.  The building is stunning, and is decorated with a bell tower, one of the most famous in the world.  Big Ben.  Actually, Big Ben is just the name of the bell.  The clock tower is just... the clock tower on the end of Westminster Palace.  This is much less impressive sounding.  In any case, it is wickedly photogenic.

 

  

One of the most photogenic sights in London is hidden in the back of the pentultimate Westminster Palace shot.  The London Eye, a massive and very slow Ferris Wheel on the South Bank.  Here are a few photos taken from the opposite bank of the Thames.

  

There is one London sight more photogenic than either of these massive monuments.  That would be a flock of more than one hundred fighting pigeons.  I don't know why this was happening, but it was pretty amazing that it did occur.  I'm just glad that I caught it on film.

 

  

  

This seagull was a little bit offended that I thought pigeons were more photogenic than seagulls.  So, I let him pose for me.  

That night, I went to see JB Priesly's "An Inspector Calls" directed by Stephen Daldry.  It was brilliant.  The set was innovative and effective, the lighting was fascinating, the costumes were stunning, the acting was superb and there was a massive amount of fog.  Fog kind of wins me over.  Throw in some pyrotechnics and a destroyed house and we're in business.  It was wonderful, and I loved it.

 

 

London, England, UK