Windsor and Notting Hill

 April 7

Today we got out early and headed to Windsor Castle. Our tickets were for noon but we arrived about 10 and were able to go in.  It’s an incredible look into the lives of the royal family for over 1000 years. 

 

We saw St George’s Chapel where Queen Elizabeth, Philip and her grandparents and great-grandparents are buried. We then went into the area where Queen Mary’s dollhouse (100 years old) is displayed. From there we went to the State Apartments where we saw King’s bedroom and other chambers, queens bedrooms and other chambers, ballrooms and dining rooms (all used by the former kings and queens). The modern royal family’s rooms are off-limits of course. But docents there tell of seeing King Charles and Prince William often coming in and out of their rooms. Meg bought a fine china cup to display with her collection. 


After we left Windsor, we stopped in at the carpenter Arms pub and shared a fish and chips plate. Meg got a Pimm’s cup and I got an amber ale. 



We headed back to Paddington Station via the Elizabeth Line, a new very nice train, even though we were supposed to take our original fast train, we got confused. They let us out at our destination without issue. 



We have learned how to navigate the transportation system thanks to Anna LaFrance suggestion of using the CityMapper app. So we took a bus route to Abbey Road. We signed our names on the column outside Abbey Road Studios and took pictures on the iconic, but very real, zebra walk. 



We made our way to the Portobello Road Market and I bought a wallet for Steven. We dropped into a pub for a cocktail. Very nice people. In fact, everyone we have met here have been so friendly and helpful! 

Back to our hotel, then we remembered that we hadn’t hit a punch list item , Taylor Swift’s Black Dog Bar. Meg made a reservation for us and with our new found confidence in our ability to navigate London, we headed there. We learned that our reservation was for tomorrow instead of tonight, and we agreed to sit outside and order food and drinks. But the maitre’D Scott must have felt for us, because he got us a table. So nice! We had a great British meal of Fish and Chips and Cauliflower hummus. 




After dinner, we got our bus back to our hotel and we are preparing to pack and head out on the morning to Paris!





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