Ever fallen in love before?

Well, it happened. As they all say; it happens when you least expect it.  It’s been 3 days now since my first visit with… Windsor Castle! Three long days, I might add.

                                              The start of our day!

                                              

On Saturday morning Tanisha and I jumped on the closest national rail (over-ground)  train. I don’t actually like these trains to be honest with you. They travel past stations at a speed that is not quite in the realm of my comfort zone.  I feel bad for Tanish because I end up grabbing her shoulder every time one goes by… anyways.  We ended up over-using our oyster card and found out that since we were out of London … we needed to buy a separate transportation card. We could have had a pretty hefty fine, but the guy took pity on us. Sometimes having an accent is a beautiful thing. As soon as we talk- its as if … it all makes sense to them. . . we don’t know any better ;) haha.  About a month ago we came up with the idea, that as foreigners we’re allowed approximately 35% ignorance. We milk it every weekend ;) …But, we still had to pay for the zones we missed, as well as our full day oyster value-  so don’t worry, we’re still living honestly, and still realising- nothing is free.

Wow.. where to even begin? It was love at first sight. Curious and entranced I slowly inched myself towards the Castle… could it be true? I think there’s a Shakespearean line that goes “Oh, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek!” Well, I have a new one.....

 “Oh, that I might be that flag upon the hill, that my colours would soar in the wind and that all may see the one that secures my love beneath me.” - Chelsea Shakespeare

Haha! Okay, enough silliness. We were excited to begin our guided tour.. I’ve never done this before but basically you walk at your own rate and when you are ready to learn about the next station you click the appropriate number into your listening device. Its soo handy!

                                    
   We really liked the view behind us.

Oh my goodness, the rooms are high and gigantic. Pictures flood every wall, and consist of history, satire and mythical creatures. It really is beautiful. We were able to walk through one dining room which we were told is closed for half the year, as it is occupied by the queen and her important guests.  The queen herself resides inside the Windsor castle on most weekends. Apparently we can tell if she is in residence or not by the colour of the flag, if it is light blue, she is in the castle.

The state apartments have so many different rooms, but each room is unique to its own. This might sound of funny to a few of you, but I think one of the reasons why I felt such a connection to this place has to do with music. It’s one thing to learn about the composers that were commissioned and inspired to write pieces for different royal figures. It is yet another to learn some of the pieces and pour over each detail as to represent a piece in its truest form. But on this day I really felt like everything came together. Walking up the steps to the entrance my guided tour ‘listening device’ played some of Handel’s greatest works. I could even picture in some rooms where the chamber music might have taken place. There are no words to describe it only that I felt like I had an inside taste of what their entertainment would have been like at the time, and that what they enjoyed listening to, is what I enjoy listening to. A link I suppose. I then started thinking to myself, how neat that in this one aspect I can truly appreciate what history here has to offer…. But then I began to think how wonderful it is that there are so many other forms of history that others will appreciate. The architecture, the paintings, the culture, etc. How wonderful that we can all enjoy it :)

St. George's Chapel- where Henry the 8th lays in rest.

                                             Knights in Armour

                      By the end of the day we were totally pooped... well, I was.