We are off to Windsor today, taking the train from Waterloo station. But first we have a full English breakfast in the hotel.
- A word about English breakfasts. A “full” English breakfast usually means eggs and all the fixings and includes bacon, sausage, grilled tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, toast, and coffee or tea. In Scotland, it also includes haggis. Watch out for the black sausage, sometimes called blood sausage, because blood is just what they are made of. Generally, the pork sausages (or bangers) have a lot of cereal fillers. They are called bangers because, during WWII, with all the food shortages, they contained so much water that when they were put in the hot frypan, they exploded.
We stroll around Windsor village and poke into the shops. We take the jump on/jump off bus tour through Eton where the exclusive, private boys’ school is located. Started by King Henry VI in the 15th century, it costs £15,000 a year to attend. Both Princes William and Harry attend. Our tour guide said they spotted Prince Harry yesterday. The boys wear a uniform consisting of full morning dress, complete with coat and tails. It is fun to see all the boys dressed to the nines walking around the town.
We learn about the Queen’s swans. Apparently the Queen owns all unclaimed swans in England; one of her official titles is, actually, Seigneur of the Swans. Each year in Eton, in a ceremony called the Swan Upping, the Royal Swan “uppers” take a census of the swans on the River Thames. The Queen does not attend but, undaunted, the uppers toast her with port before they start.
We hop off at Windsor Castle and have a fish and chips lunch at restaurant outside the castle’s gate. We finish our bus tour, which takes us past the impressive Long Walk, the two-and-a-half-mile road through Windsor Great Park at the other end of which is the iconic, postcard view of Windsor Castle.
Tourists and residents can frequently see the Royal Family driving along the road here on their way to and from the castle; they are the only ones permitted to drive on this pleasant park road. I read a funny story in the Daily Mail that the Queen drove herself to church one Sunday and instead of waiting for a young couple pushing a stroller to move out of the way, she swerved onto the grass and drove around them, giving them a cheery wave as she passed. The article was titled, “One WILL get to church on time.”
We take tea at the pub across from the Windsor train station—The Royal Oak—and catch the 16:02 train back to Waterloo. After taking the underground to Paddington, I pick up my suitcase at our hotel and leave Mom and Brian there to fly home tomorrow.
Retracing my steps to Paddington, I plan to catch the tube to Euston, but there are no trains to Euston tonight. I am not sure if there are ever trains from Paddington to Euston or just not tonight. I trudge over to Euston. Once there, it is a pain getting from the underground to the trains; it isn’t very clearly marked. I arrive back in Birmingham about 9 PM.
Jody’s UK Memories 