Windsor & Eton
Yesterday Jaimee and I wandered on down to Windsor Castle and, despite the weather being pretty awful for most of the day, it was well worth going to see. The castle is just amazing, really the height of Royalty and decadence. And at over 900 years old, it's doing pretty well! Unfortunately you aren't able to take photos of the interior, which is a real shame because it's absolutely beautiful. We're talking oriental carpets that were gifts from visiting Heads of States, gold candelabras and utensils, chandeliers the size of my room, ornate ceilings decked out with the most incredible paintings and detail... *sigh!* I WANT A CASTLE! We were lucky we got there early too, we hardly had to queue at all, but by the time we left there was a queue going all the way down the street.
Anyway, the rest of Windsor is aslo very pretty. Here are photos from outside the castle and around Windsor:
Windsor Castle...
Windsor Castle again...
The Round Tower of Windsor Castle, unfortunately the interior is off-limits
Crazy leaning Tea House in Windsor
Windsor castle once again... it's kinda big!
A view of Windsor Castle with St George's chapel on the left
Changing of the Guards...again, this area is restricted.
Outside St George's Chapel. No photos are allowed inside, but the detail on the outside is somewhat indicative of what the inside is like ... multiplied by about 100! If you watched the Charles and Camilla prayer service, this is where it was held, and you would be able to see the inside from that footage. It's REALLY impressive, what with all the dead King's and Queens (including Henry VIII, Jane Seymour - one of Henry's wives - Edward III, the Queen Mum, King George V, Princess Margaret..... lots of dead people!).
Another pic outside the chapel...
More pics of the Castle...
Hey look it's another pic of the castle!
After the castle we got some lunch at one of the local pubs - a really lovely atmosphere, dark wood interior, and we sat by an open fire to keep warm while the rain pelted down outside and we dined on steak and ale pie with mash and vegies - all very stereotypically English! Then we wandered off down to Eton.
Eton is also very pretty. TO get there you walk over a pedestrian bridge over the Thames, which is just beautiful. Lots of green weeping willows and swans and ducks and whatnot:
View from the Eton side of the river across to Windsor Castle.
River Thames, with lots of Swans and all that jazz
View across to Eton from the Windsor side of the Thames
Eton, as I said, was really pretty. As it was the weekend, a lot of the boys were out and about, mostly in plain clothes but we did see a few in their very poncey uniforms - pin-striped trousers, white shirts and black suit coat with tails... There's a lot of money around there! Jaimee and I had a guided tour of the old school which, apart from the Chapel, is hardly used any more. It was built by Henry VI and the original buildings still stand. The Chapel is beautiful too, with wall murals and an amazing organ. The old school rooms are quite cool to look at as well - hundreds of years of boys scratching their names into the wooden desks and pillars and things! And above those, the original King's Scholars rooms are still used. 60 boys are granted scholarships every year and are known as Kings Scholars, and get their own rooms and dining room. It's all very prestigious. Anywho, these are pics of the school:
Part of the original Eton College. The statue of the Virgin Mary somehow surived the Reformation in England. It is thought it may have been hidden or covered up at the time.
One of the courtyards at the old School. These buildings today are mostly used for administration purposes, although the original King's Scholars dining room is still used (on one side of this courtyard).
The original buildings, built in the time of Henry VI, and where the King's Scholars still live.
The Chapel of Eton College...
And again!
Last night I went over to Jaimee's place and there were a bunch of antipodeans there, all drinking and watching the EuroVision Song contest. It's quite a big thing, for all it's tack and trashiness. Every country in Europe (and 'Europe' is fairly loosely defined...) submits an act, either an individual artist or group who has not been signed with a major record label, and then there are 20 finalists. Then after all the finalists have done their thing on stage, everyone in Europe can vote, but you can't vote for your own country. So a lot of the voting comes down to neighbourly love and political issues. For instance, Cyprus gave no votes to Turkey, but gave all their points to the UK. Greece won, after Switzerland and Latvia were leading the game for a while. Anywho, a good night with good company!
Today I have to start on assignments. I'm so scattered at the moment...there's a million things I have to do, some of which pertain to things on the other side of the world, and I just don't know how to deal with all of them at once...
I'm sure everything will work out just fine.:)
Anyway, the rest of Windsor is aslo very pretty. Here are photos from outside the castle and around Windsor:
Windsor Castle...
Windsor Castle again...
The Round Tower of Windsor Castle, unfortunately the interior is off-limits
Crazy leaning Tea House in Windsor
Windsor castle once again... it's kinda big!
A view of Windsor Castle with St George's chapel on the left
Changing of the Guards...again, this area is restricted.
Outside St George's Chapel. No photos are allowed inside, but the detail on the outside is somewhat indicative of what the inside is like ... multiplied by about 100! If you watched the Charles and Camilla prayer service, this is where it was held, and you would be able to see the inside from that footage. It's REALLY impressive, what with all the dead King's and Queens (including Henry VIII, Jane Seymour - one of Henry's wives - Edward III, the Queen Mum, King George V, Princess Margaret..... lots of dead people!).
Another pic outside the chapel...
More pics of the Castle...
Hey look it's another pic of the castle!
After the castle we got some lunch at one of the local pubs - a really lovely atmosphere, dark wood interior, and we sat by an open fire to keep warm while the rain pelted down outside and we dined on steak and ale pie with mash and vegies - all very stereotypically English! Then we wandered off down to Eton.
Eton is also very pretty. TO get there you walk over a pedestrian bridge over the Thames, which is just beautiful. Lots of green weeping willows and swans and ducks and whatnot:
View from the Eton side of the river across to Windsor Castle.
River Thames, with lots of Swans and all that jazz
View across to Eton from the Windsor side of the Thames
Eton, as I said, was really pretty. As it was the weekend, a lot of the boys were out and about, mostly in plain clothes but we did see a few in their very poncey uniforms - pin-striped trousers, white shirts and black suit coat with tails... There's a lot of money around there! Jaimee and I had a guided tour of the old school which, apart from the Chapel, is hardly used any more. It was built by Henry VI and the original buildings still stand. The Chapel is beautiful too, with wall murals and an amazing organ. The old school rooms are quite cool to look at as well - hundreds of years of boys scratching their names into the wooden desks and pillars and things! And above those, the original King's Scholars rooms are still used. 60 boys are granted scholarships every year and are known as Kings Scholars, and get their own rooms and dining room. It's all very prestigious. Anywho, these are pics of the school:
Part of the original Eton College. The statue of the Virgin Mary somehow surived the Reformation in England. It is thought it may have been hidden or covered up at the time.
One of the courtyards at the old School. These buildings today are mostly used for administration purposes, although the original King's Scholars dining room is still used (on one side of this courtyard).
The original buildings, built in the time of Henry VI, and where the King's Scholars still live.
The Chapel of Eton College...
And again!
Last night I went over to Jaimee's place and there were a bunch of antipodeans there, all drinking and watching the EuroVision Song contest. It's quite a big thing, for all it's tack and trashiness. Every country in Europe (and 'Europe' is fairly loosely defined...) submits an act, either an individual artist or group who has not been signed with a major record label, and then there are 20 finalists. Then after all the finalists have done their thing on stage, everyone in Europe can vote, but you can't vote for your own country. So a lot of the voting comes down to neighbourly love and political issues. For instance, Cyprus gave no votes to Turkey, but gave all their points to the UK. Greece won, after Switzerland and Latvia were leading the game for a while. Anywho, a good night with good company!
Today I have to start on assignments. I'm so scattered at the moment...there's a million things I have to do, some of which pertain to things on the other side of the world, and I just don't know how to deal with all of them at once...
I'm sure everything will work out just fine.:)
posted by Melanie at
5:20 am
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