I decided to take it slow this morning so that rush hour would be over by the time I got out into the hustle and bustle - I'm learning!
Once I got out there, I went to Paddington Station (near and dear to my heart, as some of you might know), and I took the train to Windsor to see Windsor Castle, which is the Queen's official residence. As those of you who are following along on my blog know, she is in Edinburgh, so the castle was open to visitors. In addition to the castle grounds, the "state apartments" were open (not her private rooms). These turned out to be apartments decorated by King Charles I in a very Baroque style - we're talking about lots of gold and intricate wood carving and brocade and art. Oh my goodness, the art. There were Rembrandts and Van Dycks, and in addition to these original masterpieces, there were official portraits of kings and queens going way back.
Apparently, the highest order of knights in England is the Knights of the Garter, and Windsor Castle is the seat of this order. The story goes that one of the kings from way back when was at a ball in France, and he was dancing with a beautiful young woman (although both of them were married to other people). Her garter fell off, and he stopped to pick it up. He was about to put it on himself, when he saw that everyone else had stopped to watch and wonder. He insisted that he was just being chivalrous and scolded everyone for thinking that he was doing anything wrong. The next year, he founded the Knights of the Garter and the motto is (in Latin, of course) "shame on anyone who thinks evil of it."
On the way home, I stopped off at the Notting Hill Gate stop on the Tube (hey, the movie made it look cute!), and I wandered into Kensington Gardens without realizing where I was. Before I knew it, I was in front of Kensington Palace (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles lived). Check out the photo of the gate, which had flowers and tributes to Diana all over it - just like we all remember seeing on the news 10 years ago.
2 comments:
By the way, those royal palaces? Built with money stolen from my ancestors! Your's too, most likely. You should insist that you be allowed to kick off your shoes and laze about on the furniture admiring your art.
Don't you love the term Rococo? That's the highest late Baroque and is tremendously ornamented and frilly. Is that what the palace style was?
So B and I are off for exotic Springfield, MO tomorrow a.m. Please don't be envious. People who travel about Europe sometimes have to miss out on other tempting trips that overlap in time. It's a lesson you'll learn well this time, Missy! We'll be off in the land of Lincoln and we might even see a bedroom where Honest Abe himself once slept. You can - ahem - console yourself that you got to see the Queen of England's house.
Yes, Nicole, you'll be home suffering jet lag, too tired to think about cleaning your apartment, and we'll be in beautiful Springfield, cleaning horse stalls.
Well, despite the impending end to your European Vacation, live it up while you can and then sleep like a log on the flight back! Be safe, don't work too hard when you get back, and count the days until we return from *Springfield* so you can see our photos (and, um, I guess we'll deign to look at your photos too.) ;-)
Love,
K
I think Karrin meant to write "Springfield, Illinois" not Missouri. However, Missouri does have many equally exciting attractions in the same class as Windsor Castle. Leila's Hair Museum in Independence is one that you should not miss.
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