The day started with a miserable walk through the pouring rain from the train station to my new school (I can see that's going to be a problem once I actually start work!), then a 2 hour conversation with my Head of Department about the different year groups and what I can expect. It was great to be able to go through everything and to get his advice on what I should be focussing on and what needs to be done. The morning was made even more productive by the fact that I was able to stop by the admin offices and find out my Certificate of Sponsorship number for my visa application, so there really isn't ANYTHING that should stand in the way of my applying for the visa when I get home.
Anyway, I walked back to the train station after the meeting, caught the train back to Clapham Junction, and found Johanna on the platform to Windsor. We hopped on the train and passed the less than 1 hour journey talking and looking at the scenery out the window. It was about 3pm when we got off the train and headed towards the Castle.
Now, the last time I had been in Windsor, it had been for an evening concert at the Eton College Chapel so, even though I'd technically visited before and seen the outside of the castle, I hadn't actually done any tourist sites. I was floored, therefore, when I realised that what I had thought was the entire outside of the castle was actually only a small portion of it, and that the thing extended way down the street, past where the eye could see.Johanna and I bought our tickets, noting happily that it entitled us to free visits for the next year, then slowly made our way along the moat path, stopping to take pictures at regular intervals. The admission price includes a free audio guide, so we listened to the man tell us about various features as we strolled along, pausing just before we were to enter the State Apartments.
I had already started up the path to the State Apartments when the man in the audio guide mentioned that St George's Chapel closed at 4pm and, if it was late in the day, that we should make an effort to see that first. Therefore, I did an about face and headed down the hill towards the Chapel instead.
St George's Chapel is a lovely little chapel that is the home church for the Queen and her family. Whenever you see her dressed up on Easter or various other holidays, the picture will most likely have been snapped at St George's Chapel. I walked fairly quickly through it, however, pausing to examine the plaque on the floor that proclaimed that Henry VIII was buried underneath in the Quire. Apparently, the Queen Mother and the Queen's father, George IV, are also buried in the church.
I came out of the Chapel more quickly than Johanna did so plonked myself on the grass outside to wait until she came out. As I waited, I amused myself by watching the tourists mill by and listening to their conversations. Johanna finally emerged a good while later and we both headed back up the hill to the State Apartments.
The first stop in the Castle was Queen Mary's dollhouse, which really is just amazing - I'll bet you could build a real house with what it cost to build that dollhouse and what it's worth now. It was in the next room, filled with Da Vinci's sketches, that the guard reminded us that we only had 45 minutes to make it through another 40+ rooms and that we might want to hurry up. Cue slightly panicked quick-walking through the rest of the rooms, leaving an overall impression that everything was gorgeous but that I managed to miss a lot. Ah well. Guess it's a good thing my admission is good for a year! :)
When we emerged from the castle at 5:15, we decided we'd walk into Eton and see the outside of the College. Johanna didn't really know anything about the College, so I explained why it was kind of a big deal as we walked along, and pointed out the distinctive uniforms in a shop window as we passed through Eton. We sat on a bench within the Eton College churchyard, slightly annoyed that we were way too late to go on a guided tour, then decided we'd follow the signs on the street that pointed the way to a Fun Fair.
As we followed the signs, we passed various boarding houses for the College, as well as the Library (a gorgeous, round, dome-topped building), the College's Natural History Museum....and about a million things that belonged to the College. In fact, it seemed like the entire town belonged to the College! lol.
We finally came upon what looked like a dead end and a huge, completely flat green field that had a little sign on it saying that it was the "South Meadow", or something like that. There was a well-beaten path around the perimeter of the meadow and then, very faintly, a barely discernable path going right through the centre. Johanna and I debated whether we should go around or cut through, then pretended to be checking our watches as another pair of people emerged on the other side and studied the paths as well. We watched surreptitiously as they began to make their way around the meadow then, shrugging our shoulders and throwing caution to the wind, headed for the middle path.
It was quite surreal to be walking through the middle of this gigantic meadow on this tiny little path, completely surrounded by wild green grass on either side. I really wish I had taken a picture! In any case, we emerged unscathed (and unscolded) on the other side, and found that we had popped out on the inside of the gated Eton College Sanatorium! Snapping some photos of the building, we let ourselves out of the premises and headed back into Windsor.
The day ended with dinner in Nando's, then a short walk back to the train station. There was a moment of hilarity as we got onto a train only to realise that it had just pulled in and still read "Windsor&Eton Riverside" as its destination. We sat down for a second before jumping off in paranoia that the train wouldn't head back to London but would, instead, be driven off to some unknown destination, ourselves inside! It was about 10 minutes before we realised that the train, in fact, WOULD be heading back to London and we could get back on, reassured.The train journey home was uneventful except for a handful of teenage yobs being, well, yobs. They somehow triggered the door alarm before fleeing at a stop, so we sat on the track for about 20 minutes as the guard attempted to fix the problem, muttering under his breath about stupid kids as he stalked up and down the aisle.
I was home in Surbiton by 9, resolved that the next time I went to Windsor, I'd arrive early enough to take the tour of Eton and to look at the Castle more carefully :).
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