AoC - Day the Fifth: in which I see how the royal half lives

I spent all of last Thursday in Windsor and Eton. It takes about an hour to get to the Riverside or Central train stations from the Waterloo train station. Another 12 pounds well spent.

I saw this amusing sign at the Windsor station:


There's no escaping Jane Austen. I gave up years ago.


You can see the castle from the train station, and it's only about a 10-minute walk to get to it.



It's definitely not isolated with acres of empty fields around it. The village is right across the street:



The Queen says she considers Windsor her home. I found it to be too imposing-looking and museum-like to be a home (I suppose that shows you how of-the-people I am).





As per routine, no pictures allowed inside.

My first stop was Queen Mary's Dollhouse. It's a palace in miniature. The lights and faucets and elevators ("lifts") all work. Many of the pieces inside it are handcarved, handmade, and use materials like marble or silk.

Also in this display room, you can see two 3-foot-tall dolls that were given to then-Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret by the children of France. Each doll has her own traveling trunk and a full wardrobe of underclothes and dresses - all handmade, I'm sure.

The royal family's art collection isn't too shabby either - a DaVinci drawing or two and Michelangelo's drawings of royal ancestors are some of the highlights.

They even have their own chapel, which really looks like a full-size church. This is just part of it:


The Queen's parents and grandparents are buried here, along with her sister, Princess Margaret, as well as many other kings, queens, princes, and princesses. Henry VIII is buried with his favorite wife, Jane Seymour (the one who gave him a son who actually lived).

To say the royal family owns a lot of stuff is an understatement. The castle is cluttered with swords, guns, paintings, armor, furniture, statues, and china.

The town is cute and has lots of shops and cafes. I stopped for a roast chicken and chips lunch before going to check out the village of Eton.



The villages of Windsor and Eton are right next to each other, separated by a footbridge going over a cleaner part of the Thames.



And a cleaner Thames:



School was in session at Eton College, and the boys didn't seem at all fazed by all the tourists in the town. Why they should have to dress in tailcoats to sit in a classroom is beyond me.

Eton village looks a lot like Windsor village, but less crowded.



The college was closed to visitors for the season, but I did manage to get this bit of it:



There are a lot of other day trips you can take from London besides Oxford and Windsor - you could go to Cambridge, Greenwich, Bath, and even Paris.

I had dinner back in London at Jenny Lo's tea house, which is just down the street from my hotel. I had a yummy plate of Singapore noodles and a cup of green tea. They put the tea leaves right in the cup, and it's drinkable when the leaves sink to the bottom and you can pick up the cup (no handle on it) without burning your fingers.

Two more stops in tomorrow's post.