stix and string: February 2010

The sadness hit me hard when we woke up on our last full morning in the Motherland. We had a full day planned and I was sooooo excited but had a looming pit in my stomach that it would all be over very soon.

We headed over to get some breakfast from the barf cafe (yes, we braved it this day as we had no time for anything else) and got some fruit and cheese to go. We took the tube to Paddington Station to catch the express to Windsor (we changed trains in Slough! It really is kind of dumpy). It was very cold and rainy all day long. A good day to be inside. We were not. Inside. Ah well, no such thing as bad weather... ;).

Windsor is the most adorable wee town. The castle was closed when we got there because we were anxious jakes and arrived too early. What's a person to do with the time? The answer is obvious. Shop. We went to a lovely little shop called Edinburgh Woolen Mills and went a bit nuts buying souvies for our kids. Kilts. Adorbs. Then we went over to start out tour.

Well, wouldn't you know it? The Queen's stupid apartments were closed. Honestly. Had we known we would have stayed in London but alas, we did not. Windsor was still fun. It's a truly beautiful castle. I even saw things there that I had not seen nor even known were there until this visit (I am ashamed to admit this).

In St. George's Chapel, King George VI and his lovely wife (the Queen Mum) are buried. I love these two amazing people. Despite bombing raids and the advice to leave London, they decided to stay, thereby helping moral of the British people immensely. They were brave and hardworking little bees. King George had a stutter (believed to have been brought on by the severe abuse he received from his governess) and his wife would do much of his speaking for him because of that. How cute. I love them. Also, someone I don't love but with whom I am obsessed is buried there... Henry VIII!!! What the?! I actually kind of love him. He's just so fascinating. And evil. He was like a spoiled child that never learned how to grow up and his childish tantrums turned into head chopping as he aged. So vile. And cool.

So, our trip to Windsor was short, but fun. We then trotted back over to the train station and headed back to London. We ate a pasty on the way and it was fab. I really love a pasty. If you've never had one, find a recipe and make some. They're well worth it.

Windsor Castle. Isn't it pretty? Don't bother answering. It is.

Steve and I in front of Windsor Castle.

The old moat with a ginkgo tree. We have a few of these in our yard. Whaddya know, so does the Queen.

If I can ever afford it, I'm copying this building as my house. HELLO! Just look at that brick work. Amazing.

Once back in London, we headed over to the Tower. I cannot describe in words how I love this place. If I could be a Yeoman Warder, I would. But I can't. I'd really even just be the janitor there. Maybe. Something to give me special access to the insane history that lies within these walls! OH! I love it here. When you visit, you have to have a tour with a Beefeater. You just do. They're naff and silly but they really do give good information and if you pull them aside after the tour, they can answer ANY questions you ask them about the history of the place. Really, I tried.

I have a fixation with the Tudors, as you may have surmised, and this place is just brimming with Tudor history. In addition to Traitors Gate, (where Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Catherine Howard and even Queen Elizabeth (before she was queen) were taken through on their way to imprisonment in the Tower), we saw Beauchamp Tower (where Guilford Dudley, Lady Jane Gray's husband, was kept before his execution), the White Tower (built in Norman times), and even the house where my girl, Lady Jane Gray, lived before she was executed. There was a special exhibition, entitled "Dressed to Kill", of Henry VIII's armor on display for the 5ooth anniversary of his death. It was amazing to see how he grew from a young, fit man to an obese old man in a relatively short period. His poor wives. Ugh.

We also saw the Crown Jewels but I'm not terribly fascinated by those. Is that odd? Anyway, it's a completely amazing place and a must see on anyone's list. Well, anyone's list who has a brain ;).

Traitors Gate. Can you imagine the fear of being led through this gate? The chances of getting released from the Tower after being led through this gate were about none.

The White Tower. It's completely amazing that it's still standing. It's under major construction right now.

Steve following our group up the hill toward a Tower (I forgot what it's called).

Just a pretty picture.

Me in front of Beauchamp Tower. This is the one you hear about with all the scrawlings in the stone from the prisoners. Also where Guilford Dudley was kept before his execution (I don't care much for him except that he was Jane Grey's husband).

A little monument in front of Tower Green in remembrance of those who got the chop. It was the lucky ones who got the chop here instead of up on Tower Hill. At least you might get a pillow.

Lady Jane Grey lived on the third floor (I think). How lucky for her that she had a really nice view of Tower Green from her room. She saw them building the scaffolding for her beheading.

This electronic poll was down in one of the prisons. It asked "How far would you go for your beliefs?" The answer options were: "They don't really matter" 172,250; "I'd go to prison for my beliefs" 110,000; and "I'd die for my beliefs" 150,308. Food for thought.

Happiness after the Tower.

After touring around, it was, again, time for shopping. These sights have amazing gift shops. Have I mentioned this? I went a bit crazy and bought Henry VIII and his wives as Christmas ornaments as well as in the form of matryoshka dolls. Adorable. We bought so much stuff that we had to go back to our hotel before we hit the town again. Shameful.

Later, we went to Harrods to get Lizzy her requested Princess stuff and then we went to a great Italian restaurant on Greek Street called Da Aldo. They thought we were German. Why always German? Seriously. It's odd. People never guess another country.

Anyway, after dinner it was time to walk home. With heavy hearts. This was our last night in my favorite city in the world. How very sad. We decided not to take the tube and to hoof it the whole way so we could get a last view of everything we wanted to. It was really fun. It was a cold night but it always feels good when you're walking fast and have a purpose. We didn't even feel the tiredness. We walked to Buckingham Palace via St. James's Park (such a lovely park) and walked through Admiralty Arch on the way. It was an amazing walk. Oddly peaceful in such a crazy city. We even saw a little fox in the park. See, peace. Then we got back to our hotel, packed up a bit and hit the sack. I wrote in my iphone "will now cry". SO sad!

Admiralty Arch.

Buckingham Palace. This is the only time we saw it! Oops.

Two streets merged into one another and led to our hotel. This is the first. Cute name, yes?

This is the second. Even cuter.

We found this construction sign on our last night and about died laughing. How fitting. And sad.

I had Steve take this pic while we were packing up. This is one of my favorite candy bars (not to be found in the US) and I ate them with reckless abandon while there. My bum grew. Honestly, it did. A bit funny.

My parting shot of London. Another of MY stations :). Love.

And now we reach our last day. Here's what I wrote in my iphone notes:"*so sad, *so tired, *miss kids, *got on train to Notting Hill Gate to get some Percy Pigs for family. I'm currently waiting in tubes for Steve. *want to cry when I think I'm leaving the best of all the cities but glad I'm doing it before weekend line closures ;). *made it to Heathrow after much stair climbing with our 22 kilo bags (wheelchair bound people simply cannot make it in London. No lifts). *bought some candy to spend our extra "poundage". *lived through flight thanks to knitting and good movies (Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Shakespeare in Love).

This was one LONG day. We were in transit for darn near 24 hours. And I can't sleep on planes. Ugh. Oh well. All worth it for the time spent with Steve in the greatest of all the lands. It truly was the greatest trip of all time. I loved it so much. I cannot wait to go back. Soon.