Day 13: Windsor Bound

Posted on July 10, 2011 by mreece85

We began the day with a train ride to Windsor.  We scrambled around a little to figure out how to get the ticket and if we indeed could catch a train from Paddington Station to Windsor.  Once we figured it out, we boarded the train.  Just to be sure we were at the right platform, Carolyn asked the man sitting in front of us if the train went to Slough (which she pronounced “Sloane.”)  The guy gave her a hard time and said that it did travel to Slough (pronounced sl-owww).  He didn’t believe us that we could then get to Windsor from Slough.  Then he started asking all of these questions about getting to Windsor Castle and I was nervous that maybe this would not be as easy as I read it would be.  Luckily for us, he was wrong and it was super easy.
Windsor is another town that I would like to spend more time in.  We arrived at the time of the changing of the guard (coincidentally).  It was a misty day that was much cooler than the previous day and that mist later led to rain.  The weather seemed fitting for the location, so I did not mind a little precipitation.  While at Windsor Castle we walked through the chapel, state apartments, and the doll house.  I enjoyed Windsor Castle more than Versailles.  I don’t know if it is because it is less gaudy, or because it is used by the modern monarch.

We were planning on spending a good amount of the day in Windsor, but the weather did not really permit that.  We grabbed lunch at the Three Tuns while the rain poured down.
We then walked around a tiny bit and did some shopping.  The train ride home was long and delayed.  Apparently there were signal issues because of the weather.  Transportation had not been too reliable during our trip to London.
We did a little shopping on the way back.  There was a feather headband that I really liked, but I did not purchase it.  It looked nice on, and no one at home would have had it, but it was kind of expensive.  It reminded me of Kate Middleton (or Catherine as she prefers to be called now).
For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant called Spicy World Balti House.  I ordered Balti Chicken to eat.  It came with nan which was quite good.  The aroma in the restaurant was wonderful.  The amount of flavor in their dishes is remarkable.  Mine was spicy with flavors of cilantro and many other ingredients I did not recognize individually.  I am wishing that I could go there for dinner tonight as I reminisce about this meal.  I would definitely like to find a local restaurant.
We finished the evening off with the Traveler’s Inn.  Carolyn had a pitcher of Pimm’s while I had wine.  The lady questioned her drinking it by herself and seemed concerned.  The owner, however, questioned why she would order a pitcher of this when she can’t get drunk off of it.  I guess some people find it strange that someone might want to just drink something because they like the taste of it.  We finished our drinks and then went back to the hotel.  Before we went to bed, we watched the Bodyguard.  I don’t know why.