Castles, Crowns, Colleges and Other Touristy Fun...Our Trip to England - Part 3

We're a motley looking bunch of tourists, but at least we were prepared.  We went everywhere in our comfy shoes, with a backpack full of snacks, water, band aids, baby wipes, chap stick, just about every over the counter medicine known to man, and of course the camera.

First stop...Windsor Castle...

Windsor Castle is the oldest occupied castle in the world and is one of the official residences of Her Majesty the Queen.  As it turns out, the Queen was in residence when we arrived.  We could tell because the Royal Standard was flying above the castle...

When we left, the Union Jack was flying which means that sometime while we were there, the Queen split (that's proper English for departed)...

It was fun to imagine what she must have been doing while she was there.  Towards the end of our tour of the State Apartments we saw a large dining room where caterers were busy setting up for a dinner that Prince Charles was hosting that night.  We tried to get on the guest list, but apparently we weren't dressed for the occasion...something about our comfortable shoes.

While we were at Windsor Castle, we saw Queen Mary's Doll house, her dolls and their clothes.  Think American Girl Dolls only way, way better.

We also walked through the beautiful, Gothic St. George's Chapel where there are lots and lots of dead people buried.  The girls kept asking, "who's buried there Mom?"  Kind of weird and I couldn't get used to walking on people's graves.  It seemed so disrespectful, but avoiding them would be like playing an impossible game of hot lava.

We were told by a tour guide at another location that during a question and answer session, one tourist asked why Windsor Castle was built in the flight path of Heathrow Airport...uhhhhh...oh never mind...

Next stop...Cambridge for some grown up time...

Jocelyn was kind enough to watch all the kids for us for a day and night so Rob and I could spend some time exploring Cambridge without making frequent potty and snack stops.  Cambridge is home to Cambridge University, the fourth oldest college in the world and former home to some very, very smart people.  The University is made up of 31 separate colleges.  The older colleges are spectacularly impressive and the town itself is a delight to wander through...

For the science nerds among us (I'm not naming any names), Cambridge has some pretty impressive history.  For instance, Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon were students there and the Electron was discovered here in the old Cavendish Laboratory...

We ate lunch that day at the Eagle Pub where James Watson and Francis Crick first announced that they had discovered DNA.  No scientific breakthroughs were announced during our meal...darn!  But, this photograph hung on the wall near our table...

That's A.A. Milne with his son Christopher Robin and Christopher's teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh...cool!

Next stop...Cromer for some fun in the sun (not many people get to use the words "fun in the sun" to describe their English vacation)...

Next stop...London where we stayed in a flat on the second floor of this great building in the Kensington / Chelsea neighborhood...

And where we had a view of this...

That would be a used bookstore right next door to a coffee shop.  I think I might have died and gone to heaven.  Alas, I couldn't justify wasting valuable touring time sitting in a coffee shop, reading a slightly foxed book.  Plus, the kids would never put up with such foolishness.  We had sites to see and ice cream to eat.  So off we went...

First stop in London...Hyde park for a boat ride on the Serpentine...

While the boys took the little girls for a ride, Hannah and I did this...

We know what's up.  This was day one of our 5 day ice cream tour of London.

Next stop...the Tower of London... 

I love the contrast in this picture between the centuries old Tower Gate and the modern glass egg-shaped building (I think that's London City Hall).

The Tower of London was founded in 1066 and the original keep was built by William the Conqueror in 1078.  Needless to say the place is rich with history.  This is where the Beefeaters or Yeoman Warders live and offer tours and a bit of history about the Tower.  This is also where the Crown Jewels are housed...a highlight for the girls and I.  We all agreed that Queen Victoria's dainty crown was our favorite...

This is the Tower Green where a few well known names like Anne Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey lost their heads...

Fortunately, we managed to keep our heads securely attached to our bodies...

See?  Aren't those some great looking heads?

The Tower was also hosting a Medieval Weapons demonstration while we were there...

It took four studly volunteers to launch a water balloon from this medieval "Pierre".  It's basically a giant rock launcher used in attempts to breach a castle or fortress wall over a period of many months (one rock at a time).  Storming the castle isn't nearly as exciting as the movies make it seem. 

Anyway, the second studly volunteer is mine all mine...

I think I'll keep him.

Next stop...the London Eye...

We didn't ride because the line was really long and the price was really high, but we enjoyed the atmosphere and had an ice cream cone.  The area around the London Eye is a lot like Pier 39 in San Francisco, so there was entertainment a plenty.

Next stop...the London Natural History Museum...

Brontosaurus burgers anyone?

That about wraps up our trip.  It was great.  We love to travel and I hope this trip helped develop that love in our kids.  I think they'll be game as long as there's ice cream!

This is an English sunset somewhere around 9:30...

The End.