Tuesday, April 24, 2012

England 2012, Pt. 2

[My apologies in advance for any weird formatting issues with this post. Blogger has made some "upgrades," and until I figure out exactly how they work, things might look a little bit wonky.]

My second day trip with the kids was to Windsor Castle, and I was grateful for the long, peaceful stretch of the M4 in between our pub/hotel in Swindon and the town of Windsor. It allowed me to relax my death-grip on the steering wheel, and we even went so far as to turn on the radio, since I didn't need utter silence to drive in a long, (relatively) straight stretch. Hallelujah!

When we got to Windsor, though, the radio went off, the death-grip returned, and I spazzed as I tried to follow our written directions to the castle. I made a couple of wrong turns and ended up at Legoland instead. My kids were thrilled, and I was just happy to see a big, wide parking lot. So I told them we could stretch our legs by checking out the Lego Hotel and asking for directions inside.

Noah was quick to whip out his new iTouch and snap a few photos of his own.

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Then Evan did the same.

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Then they goofed it up in Lego heaven.

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The wall behind the check-in counter was a solid expanse of mini-figures. When their own gadgets didn't do an adequate job of documenting it, the kids insisted that I do the honors.

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The nice staff at the hotel said that we could leave our car in their lot and hop a bus to downtown Windsor, so when I was able to pry my yahoos out of Lego paradise, we did just that. Phew. No more driving for awhile.

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We got more audio guides and walked around. The guide helpfully told me that this view is of the royals' private apartments. We also learned from a castle staff member that the queen herself was in residence that very day!

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We also stumbled on a great little room featuring art projects for kids who need a break from touring the grounds. Though we were only a few minutes into our visit, the kids decided that they most definitely were up for a break and some art.

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They created these lovely Tudor-inspired headpieces. Don't they look thrilled to model?

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Then we wandered around the 900-year-old castle's grounds some more and eventually made our way through the staterooms. Unfortunately, photography isn't allowed inside the castle rooms, so no pics of that... But I can tell you that the kids enjoyed a fun Easter egg hunt as they made their way through. There was a fancy jewelled egg hidden in each stateroom, and the kids had a written program providing clues to its exact location... All in all, it was a great (and educational) experience.
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Here's look down into town from the castle walls...

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At that point we were all hungry, so we made our way outside to find ourselves a late lunch. The town of Windsor, while unfortunately sprinkled with well-known chains, is quite cute.

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I liked this brand-spankin' new pub, established in 2011 in honor of the newest member of the royal family:

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The kids finally agreed to eat here -- a place called Zizzi. I thought it was a one-of-a-kind spot but found out later that it was a chain as well. Ah, well. The food was incredible, and we all left to tumble back onto the bus with full bellies and happy hearts.

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About Me

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San Luis Obispo, California
I'm a Central Coast mother of three offering customized photography services to families in the San Luis Obispo area. For more info, please contact me at erin@erinclausenphotography.com.