So we are back and it barely seems a few hours since we left, I hate that time with my parents goes so quickly but like they say, who ever
'they' may be, "time flies when you're having fun"
Having arrived late afternoon on the Monday, been fed and watered to the usual excellent and somewhat decadent standard, we hit the sack in readiness for a day of retail therapy on Tuesday. Please don't ask, what can I say? One has to make the most of the opportunity and what is plastic for if not that?! Besides, shops have places to sit and PG was still nursing his fat leg, we could hardly drag him the tourist route now could we, without at least one more day for him to recover a little!
Wednesday we woke to something in the region of 20 degrees, clear blue skies and bright sunshine, the weather remained as such for the duration of our stay and having left Scotland at minus 2 degrees the change made our small holiday seem positively like summer. We seemed to spend much time peeling off layers of fleece and winter clothing having been wary of trusting the weather Gods.....well this is the UK, sun cannot be guaranteed!
We decided to hit
Windsor and do the 'tourist thang', as locals, of course we endeavor not too but PG is new to all this and provides the rest of us with a suitable excuse to enjoy some of the attractions we haven't visited for years. Windsor was as ever, royal and busy, a selection of well clad tourists, upmarket shops and eateries and of course the
residence of HRH and her gang. Perhaps not surprisingly the furore of previous royal weddings is not in much evidence. There are of course the tacky souvenir teacloths bearing images of the 'happy couple' but whilst Charlie appears somewhat odd in his image, as is the way of these hastily and cheaply manufactured delights, Camilla seems to have had bestowed upon her some improvement! ;o)
(Click to enlarge images)
Windsor Castle from The Guildhall.
From the main street.
Aside from these items being on sale there seems to be little activity save for a larger than usual police presence and a plethora of armed officers hastily checking all man-hole covers and re-sealing them with regular monotony......a sad indictment of the times in which we live. Even the letter boxes were sealed, though as luck would have it just as I was standing looking hopeless, post card in hand, infront of a sealed specimen, a guy from the post office appeared and kindly took my offering personally!
Enter here.
The obligatory tourist shot with Victoria!
We meandered about until lunchtime, when we partook of excellent fare at a very trendy and laid back establishment offering such delights as 'a posh fish finger sandwiches' and the most superb cappuccino known to man (or woman for that matter).....despite the wind the sun was warm and on my insistence we ate outside at tables on the pavement, I just love pavement eating, though there was some chasing of serviettes in the wind, involved!
Stuffed with lunch we pottered back castle-ward and to
The Guildhall, the soon to be venue of a certain wedding. Two things struck me, this is by no means a 'common' building, as HRH seems to believe, or at least her lackeys would have us believe, but with a little more warning it could
perhaps have been treated to a coat of new paint before the worlds media descend upon it. Secondly my feelings that the excuse given for the Queen not attending the forthcoming nuptials is somewhat weak.....it is not 5 minutes walk from the castle entrance and I feel sure there could have been a suitable mode of transport arranged, should she not wish to use the foot method of propulsion!
The Guildhall.....venue of an imminent marriage.
Having completed the tourist bit we made our way, via
'Ben and Jerry's' of course, to the Thames and to my favourite part of Windsor...... the
Mute swans that reside there owned by HRH. They are the most beautiful creatures and despite their regal appearance behave in a very un-regal fashion, shouting and hollering, begging for food (which of course can be purchased from a water front vendor, no opportunity at economic gain missed in a place like Windsor) and upending themselves inelegantly at every opportunity.
Royal swans on the Thames.
Feeding frenzy!
Swans, I know, can break one's arm if they have a mind too but these are more than used to 'visitors' and providing they are treated with reasonable respect are a delight in that they will interact to a point. We of course made haste to the aforementioned vendor to purchase the appropriate food and fed swans, ducks and assorted 'hangers on' to our hearts content, until we had almost to be dragged away by my parents like kids, in an endeavor to miss the London and Heathrow rush hour..... not something one would choose to be involved in!
Stretch.
The less glamorous get hungry too.
And then it was home, foot weary but happy for a small respite before dinner out in one of my favorite places locally,
'Cafe Uno'. Here of course further stuffing of faces occurred on all manner of things including red snapper, pasta, anti pasto, lamb shank (not me of course) Parmesan, salmon, olives by the bucket load and the most enormous piece of a bitter chocolate torte concoction I have ever been presented with. I of course finished it, well it would be rude not to! The only tricky part of the day was my father's dessert, a thing of gluttony that was, in theory, to be flambe'd at the table. The waitress seemed to have forgotten this small point so ever helpful I attempted to assist, cigarette lighter ever handy. Perhaps the less said about this little incident the better.....let's just say we eventually managed to extinguish the er....'flambe', without resorting to calling 999! Heh.
~Part two to follow~
