Furthermore, once we were outside of Windsor we saw the famous walking road that leads all the way up to the castle - for a few seconds there I felt like a princess looking over the long walkway heading up to the monstrous castle ahead. Once off the bus we then walked along the River Thames up to the town of Eton. There were ducks, geese, and swans in huge bulk within the river and surprisingly but not so surprisingly the queen owns all of the swans. They are few and far in between, ruthless, take no crap, and because of this the queen wanted to full ownership to protect them so she decided to buy all of the swans and make them royal swans. As soon as we started walking along the River Thames bank all of the different types of birds lined up as close as they could get to us in hopes of getting some food. We then crossed a bridge into the tiny and very English town of Eton.
The city truly is wonderful, but it was great to actually see a true English city still in its roots. Every single street, path, and alley was cobblestone with old, different colored, wooden buildings filled with all sorts of little shops and local restaurants with locals out and about - it was probably my favorite scene thus far. We then walked to the famous Eton college which is public. When the Brits say the public they actually mean private and highly expensive. It cost a whopping $46,641.79 to send your sweet little boy annually to this prestigious school. It's a boys only school, ages 13-18, they wear tails, a pointed collar, and bowtie to class along with a straw hat in the summer or a top hat in the winter. Prime ministers, kings, and very educationally successful and driven boys as well as crack/cocaine addicts are among the many Etonians.
We then walked a little ways further and in no time were in Windsor. Another beautiful English town that happens to have a huge, royal palace in the middle of it - who wouldn't want the Queen as their neighbor?
Once we arrived to the castle area it took forever to walk around its side which consists of huge, guarded walls and ended up at a huge statue of Queen Victoria. We then saw the chapel where Elton John was married and once we reached the entrance to the castle we learned that every monarch has added something to Windsor Castle to make it what it is today. For example, Henry VIII built an arch which we would eventually exit the palace through. Before we went through the castle we had free time and walked through the local English city. First stop was a little sweet shop where I asked what the most traditional item was and it was actually a rhubarb and custard, round, hard candy. A little nervous at first, but it turned out to be delicious! After some more walking around we grabbed lunch at the oldest restaurant and building in the entire town - The Drury House. It's 50 yards from the castle and the building was establed circa 1645. There is an underground tunnel that leads from The Drury House to the castle, specifically the royal bed chamber, because Henry VIII kept his favorite mistress there and visited frequently. The restaurant was incredible - a real fire was going, old paintings and moldings and all decor still intact. I felt like it was 1645. Even the menu was old fashioned and I once again asked for the most traditional option which was 'chicken pie.' It was basically the inside of a chicken pot pie served with steamed carrots and peas and it was soooooo good!
Now to the castle we go! After plenty of airport-like security we went in, but of course only in the 'state apartments' which is where guests would stay and where the queen occasionally hosts dinners for a small 150 people. We weren't allowed to take pictures once inside, but I snuck one picture of the Queen's dollhouse from when she was growing up. It had to have been 8 feet tall and was modeled off of a castle - hell I was excited about my Barbie jeep and American Girl dolls. There was also a drawing room filled with old photos of the entire royal family from all generations, sketches by Leonardo De Vinci and other famous artists - it was incredible. Also, there are over 250 rooms for the guests on this side of the castle and then there is a lush field of green grass and then the opposite side of the castle is the queen's personal quarters which also consists of over 250 rooms just for her. Such rooms we got to see on the state apartments (public) side of the castle included bed chambers, changing rooms, dining rooms, guest rooms, armory rooms, parlors, etc. I seriously would need a map for at least a year to figure it all out. It was absolutely monstrous and elaborate! We walked on an oversized red carpet the entire way through and every room had huge, glamorous chandeliers and the decor could not have been more 'posh.' Every piece of furniture, gold molding, ceiling painting, etc could have more top of the line. It was extravagant to say the least.
We also got a peak at the English gardens behind the palace which were immaculate and of the hundreds of very serious and very humorously dressed guards. On our way out of the castle we passed the Chapel of Saint George which is within the castle walls. The Queen worships here when she is in town and many, many famous monarchs are buried within it. I was with another girl at the time and we went to the spot where we were supposed to meet our group and no one was there and we had no idea whatsoever of how to get back to the buses - in other words, shit! I texted the few peoples numbers I had and we fearfully attempted to find the lot where we were supposed to be, but finally, one of the IES staffers called my phone and helped us get there. Thankfully everyone only waited about 2 minutes on us. We were supposed to meet at 3:15 and we got there at 3:17...when the Brits say they are all about punctuality they mean it!
Speaking of that we got a quick lesson on British academics and their culture. Being late is seen as highly disrespectful and basically a slap in the face. They specifically told us not to be on time, but to be early. Also, for every class we miss our grade drops by half of a letter grade. Therefore, if I miss 1 class I automatically start with an A- no questions asked. Soooooo I will be much more punctual within the classroom unlike those 2 minutes at Windsor. I mean I could've knocked on the Queen's door and asked to stay the night, right?
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