Windsor Castle

At 1:30 our tour guide picked us up and we headed for Windsor Castle.  We parked the car and started walking up the hill to the castle.  These were some of the shops on the way up.

  

This building is used for a market but it is a government building and is where Charles and Camilla were married.

 

This view of the castle has a statue of Queen Victoria in front.

 

We had to walk up this hill to get to the entrance.

This is the entrance way to the castle.

This building was originally half as tall.  One of the Kings decided it wasn’t impressive enough and added the second story.  The building is only used for storage.

Once we got inside, we got a wheelchair for Wayne as there was lots of hills ahead of us.  Thankfully our tour guide offered to push.  This is looking down into the dry moat which is filled with flowers.

  

We wore our UT shirts so that we could get a picture of us for the TexasExs of Corpus Christi.

We did St. James Cathedral first as it was to be closing early today.  Unfortunately you can’t take pictures inside.  It is the rounded building on the right hand side.

These are the quarters where the retired Knights of the Garter and other retired members of the court live.

The red cross over the door is the shield of the Knights of the Garter.

This is the exit where we will leave after the tour.

We went down to the lower terrace so we could look over and see just the vantage point where soldiers who were defending the castle could see for miles.

Here is the road going up to the area of the State Apartments.

In the corner you can see the entrance to the Queen’s quarters when she is in residency.  She is said to prefer Windsor Castle to Buckingham Palace.  Here quarters are to the left an the apartments to the right are for visiting dignitaries.

We saw Queen Mary’s doll house and the state apartments and many other displays but we were unable to take pictures.  Here is another part of the Castle.

As we were heading out I saw a waterfall and I can’t pass a waterfall without taking pictures.

As we were leaving we saw three gentlemen coming out of the apartments in full dress uniform  They were retired members of the Royal Guard heading to the chapel for a ceremony to drape the chair of one of the Knights of the Garter who had passed away.

 

I got my picture taken with one gentleman.

As we left I saw this lovely lady in period costume and made Wayne pose for a picture with her.

 

Our tour guide, Jeff, went and got the car and picked us up and we headed back into London.   I took pictures on the way back.

This monument along the roadway stands on American soil that was given to us by one of the Kings.

 

This is the last munitions tower.  They used to drop molten lead from the top and by the time it got to the ground it was round and ready to use.

 

We saw very few single family free-standing homes.  Most of them are either duplexes or apartments.

 

This is Harrods, the largest department store in the UK.  We went there the last time we were in London.

     

This is one of the arches around Hyde Park.

 

We even found a BMW place right down the road from the hotel.

      

And lastly here is Wayne with our tour guide, Jeff.

Changing of the Guard

When we got to Buckingham Palace, a crowd was beginning to form.  Some people were sitting on this fountain.

Others lined the fence surrounding the palace.  These are the main gates to the palace.

Before the ceremony in the courtyard began, there was a horse parade.  You can see how the crowd has grown.

The crown around the fountain had multiplied as well.

This is part of the palace looking through the fence.  You can catch a glimpse of the regiment that came in first.

   

Then another regiment and band came in from the left of us and stood where we couldn’t see them.  They were followed by a second band that came in from the right and stood where we could see them.

       

The second band was much larger than the first one.

  

In this picture you can see the entrance doors to the palace.

We aren’t sure what the significance of the two men marching but march they did back and forth, back and forth.

 

Here they are getting ready to change the guard.

 

Here is a picture of the front of the palace.

  

After the ceremony we walked a few blocks to find something to eat.  We were on this corner.

 

Here is Wayne sitting in Bon Gusto where we had a very good lunch.

After lunch we caught another taxi back to the hotel.  The taxi let us off at the Park Lane entrance where there is a Starbucks.

 

We were both thirsty so we went to the bar area and had glasses of water.  This room overlooks Park Lane and Hyde Park.

 

We had scheduled a tour of Windsor Castle for the afternoon and that will be another blog.