Windsor Castle and Hampton Court

Hey! I should start off by saying that I went to Windsor Castle in the middle of February, and it is now late March. Many apologies to those hurt by this (Alex). Also an important fact about my trip to Windsor Castle: the Queen was in residence! She stayed in the Upper ward while we are allowed to see the Middle and Lower wards. In the picture below, she would be in the area to the right. 

First stop, Windsor Castle. It was about an hour ride to the town of Windsor. The bus parked far from the castle so that we had to opportunity to walk through the lovely town of Windsor. On the way to the castle, we walked along side a river full of swans. It was actually the famous River Thames which eventually flows through London also. 

Swans in the River Thames. All the Swans in the United Kingdom belong to the Queen, so it's illegal to kill them. 

The streets of Windsor with the castle on a hill in the background.

The River Thames on the way to Windsor Castle.

As we walked closer to the castle, the side streets got cuter and cuter. We soon ended up at the front gate of Windsor Castle. In front of the gate is a 2 1/2 mile road called the Long Walk. At the end of the walk is a statue called the Copper Horse. It is of King George the III and was built by his son, King George the IV. It's almost three miles away because it is said that they hated each other. 

The Long Walk at Windsor Castle. 

A small church in the small town of Windsor. I was taller than the door...

Street side Windsor.

The front entrance of Windsor Castle. During the changing of the guard, the new guards and band enter through that archway.

Windsor Castle from the front gate. The Long Walk is behind me in this picture.

Next, we went through security. The security building was a small brick building that was for the sole purpose of security. The interior of the building was lined with photos of the Queen, Betty as I call her, that captured her adorableness. 

Finally, we made it into the castle! The place is like a town in itself. It is made up of a lower, middle, and upper ward. The entrance led us into the lower ward which was sort of on the bottom of the hill. I noticed how the castle at a slight slope, with the lower ward on the bottom, leading up to the upper ward at the top. It's funny because the Queen stays in the Upper ward, so it's like she's watching down on us! 

The view of the castle as soon as you get though security, still not exactly in the castle. 

LET ME IN.

Spring time at Windsor Castle.

On the exterior wall of the Castle. When it was under attack, soldiers were able to shoot their muskets and things from behind the protection of this creative barrier. 

The Middle Ward at Windsor Castle.

Lamp... 

After a few minutes of exploring the first section of the castle, we heard music coming from the Lower Ward.  Naturally, we ran towards it. It was the changing of the guard! 

 The changing of the guard at Windsor Castle. Buncha Tina Turners over here.

After we'd seen enough of the changing of the guard, we moved on to St. George's Chapel. The chapel was amazing. It was beautiful on the inside but we weren't allowed to take pictures. This is where many of England's famous rulers are buried. Some to name a few are King Henry VIII, some of his many wives, and King Charles I. 

St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The crowd in front was watching the Changing of the Guard.

From inside the chapel. Love these windows!

The State Room Apartments at Windsor Castle. (I didn't take this)

He was giving me the eye. I think he would've attacked me if I accidentally touched him. Tough guy.

Next stop, Hampton Court Palace. It was about an hour ride to Hampton Court Palace from Windsor, not bad at all. Hampton Court Palace was built by King Henry VIII for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1514. When Cardinal Thomas Wolsey died, he passed it back to King Henry VIII. It has been added on to since its beginning in 1514. That's why the many areas of the palace seem very different. 

The front entrance of Hampton Court Palace. 

Sitting in King Henry VIII's chair with his soup spoon, ain't no thang.

The dining room ceiling. 

There were fun, used for entertaining. 

One of three courtyards inside the palace. They all looked very different.

The outside of the palace and the gardens were probably my favorite part. They seemed to be very Alice in Wonderland inspired. Like these oddly shaped trees and perfectly flat landscaped path and grass. 

The palace had a hedge maze that dates back centuries for the kiddos visiting the palace (me and my friends).

One side of the Palace and it's view of the water ways. Mr. Darcy, it that you?

Another Alice in Wonderland feeling.

Another side of the palace, very different than the last. 

Archway with vines growing over it. 

Overall, I loved both Hampton Court and Windsor Castle. I'd say I loved Windsor more in its entirety and its village feel inside the exterior walls. It didn't have any gardens, though. I LOVED the gardens at Hampton Court Palace. Thanks for reading!

Regent's Park

Hi ya, pal! (Home Alone criminal voice). On Friday (yes, almost a week ago - whoops), I went out and explored Regent's Park. When I say "I went and explored", I mean I crossed the street and brought my camera. Regent's College is located between the Inner Circle and Outer Circle along the York Gate (see map). The map is very simple though. The green spaces are actually different gardens and there are rivers running through it.

A waterfall in the middle of the park.

The main pathway in Queen Mary's Gardens.

An ivy covered bridge.

It was so pretty walking around the park. Warm, too. I had just a sweater on all day! The birds were chirping and you could hardly hear the noise of the city. It's nothing like the Boston Common. Much more of a peaceful park than the Common, better uses than a pathway for commuters. 

Statue in the middle of St. John's Lodge Gardens. St. John's Lodge in the background.

Pathway to St. John's Lodge Gardens.

After exploring, I found it a good idea to go for a run through the park. My downfall was choosing to go around 4 pm when people like to go for an after work walk. I did quite more maneuvering than running, but it was still gorgeous! Maybe next time I'll try a different time of day. 

Queen Mary's Gardens.

I can see myself bringing my homework to one of the many park benches in the park on a nice day in April. Or, even a blanket and lay in the sun. Loving London! 

London Theatre

My friends in theatre classes are always going to great shows generously paid for by Regent's. Each class offers between 6 and 8 shows through the semester that they then discuss in class. Unfortunately, I'm a Marketing student and don't have the opportunity to take the theatre classes. But, from all the reviews of shows in London, I've already been to two in the three weeks that I've been here.

My first theatre experience was a great one. It was a Wednesday afternoon when my roommate, Gretchen, and I headed to the West End and popped in from theater to theater until we found one with decently priced student tickets. Mamma Mia and Matilda were both way too expensive for us, 35 pounds each! We were about to give up when we decided to try out The 39 Steps. It was 2:30, so we were aiming for the 3:00 matinee. Luckily, they had seats available, AND a student discount AND they were only 15 pounds. DEAL! The theater was small, but we ended up getting second row seats in the center, couldn't get much better! Although I had no idea about this show prior to 2:30, it was really good! All I knew before it started that it was a mock mystery. It was about a man on the run because a woman was killed in his apartment, and he was being accused for murder. The man had to try and find a man to help him out, he turned out to be an enemy, as well as many other characters. The play had a lot of references to Alfred Hitchcock, which I loved. In comparison to the few plays I've see in the states, this was a great value. It was unexpectedly good and made me laugh all through the play. I feel as though London is such a popular theatre city, that every show that makes it here will be great.

My latest theatre experience in London was also a last minute thing. I had a long Friday full of laundry and homework when I ventured down to the Refectory for some dinner. I ran into my friend Rachel and we decided to go to a show that night. We looked up shows that were playing and decided we both would love to see Shrek: The Musical. I know, sounds dumb. I threw on a jacket and we were out the door around 6:30 for the 7:30 show. It was unfortunately really rainy on our walk to the Baker Street Tube Station, which slowed us down. We would've been on time to the show if we didn't get lost finding the theater, whoops! We got there on the dot at 7:30, which turned out to be a good thing. We asked for a student ticket but found out they don't have student discounts on Fridays. The manager came over to the window and told us since the show was about to start and no one else would be coming, she would give us the student price (20 pounds) and the best seats available. Awesome! We sat in the front row of the balcony, which ended up being level with the stage. Best seats in the house if you ask me! Shrek was an amazing show. They had a live orchestra and singing all throughout the show. The sets were unbelievably detailed as well as the costumes resembling story book characters. My favorite was Lord Farquad because it was a man of normal height who had to walk on his knees the whole time with fake legs attached to his thighs. The fake legs were so funny to watch, I kept giggling. I felt it was a real Broadway quality show for such a good price. I left the show feeling like a kid again, happy as can be.

My favorite thing about the theatre here in London is how they treat their customers. In the US, people get punished for waiting until the last minute to buy a ticket like this. Over here, the British won't buy the tickets if the prices are hiked up like that. Ain't nobody got time fo dat. The theaters here want to fill up as many seats as possible. It's a great business technique in both cases; the audience is the only difference between countries. I can't wait to see another show! Thanks for reading!

Isle of Wight

Well hello! Hope you're all enjoying my blog! My trip to Isle of Wight, like Stonehenge, came about last minute. The tickets were sold out until a few days before the trip when they added seats, in which I made sure to get one!

The bus picked us up outside of Regent's at 8 am and then a two hour bus ride to the ferry. I was ready to get off the bus when we arrived at the ferry dock in South Hampton, but we never did. I didn't realize the bus would go ON the ferry! That ain't no ferry to Martha's Vineyard! After the bus was parked, we were able to get out and go up to the top levels where there was food and a comfortable lounge area. The ferry was very slow moving, so it took about an hour to get to the Isle of Wight. 

P.S. The ferry left from South Hampton, a major port in England. It's like the Port of Miami for the United States: full of cruise ships and barges. A few days after my trip, I was just casually watching The Parent Trap when I realized that's where the Queen Elizabeth II docked! Loves it. 

The ferry pulled into East Cowes, and then we were off to see The Needles in Alum Bay, Yarmouth. The island has one fast road with a speed limit of 70, but the rest of the roads are small and winding - the fun roads for those not driving a big coach (bus). 

 The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that stand up straight out of the sea. The bus parked and let us out to go walk to where we could see The Needles from a nearby cliff. We had to walk through a deserted amusement park to get the good view. I'm sure this was because the island is a summer destination. Picture walking through Bowen's Wharf in Newport, but with literally no people. 

After The Needles, we got back on the bus and drove down the entire west coast of the island. The views and cliffs were awesome! I tried my best to get a good picture from the bus.

Next stop, Ventnor! We had forty minutes to explore the seaside village of Ventnor. The area was very hilly and the buildings were built into the hills with beautiful views of the English Channel. 

Next stop, Shanklin! Shanklin is a village with thatched roof houses and many stores and restaurants to explore. The problem is, nothing was open. The island lifestyle of slow moving without a care in the world is definitely in effect at Isle of Wight. Aka, it's where rich English chaps go to retire. We ate lunch at the only restaurant open, called Chubby's; health food galore. 

Next stop, Godshill! This was my favorite village we visited. It may be because of the view we had and the sunset was perfect timing. Godshill was named because of a story from when the village was being built. Many years ago, a group of men were laying the foundation of a church for the villagers. They would leave the construction site after a long day of hard work, but return in the morning to find the foundation moved to the top of a very steep hill. This happened three times when they finally decided it was an act of God and built the church on top of the hill. So we were running a little late on our tour, and only had twenty minutes to explore Godshill. My friends and I decided we really wanted to see the top of the hill so we told ourselves if we weren't almost there after 10 minutes of walking up the hill, we should turn back to catch the bus. Turns out, we may have overestimated the walk up the hill because we made it there in 2 minutes. Drama queens! To be fair, we bolted up the very steep steps. The church at the top of the hill was beautiful as well as the graves surrounding it. We also had an amazing view of the surrounding hills and homes.  

Next stop, home! After Godshill, we got back on the bus and onto the ferry. It got very cold on the ferry, especially with the doors open for people coming inside. Then it was a two hour bus ride home. A full day in the beautiful Isle of Wight came to a close with pizza and salad for dinner and a good nights sleep. Thanks for reading!