To London and Beyond . . . Phillips Family Adventures: Windsor Castle

On Saturday June 30th (wow, I've taken too long to get this out . . .) we took a quick jaunt by train out to the lovely town of Windsor. Windsor is famous for Windsor Castle, which is the largest and oldest actual working castle in Europe. Parts of the castle were originally constructed as early as the 11th century, and the castle is still used today because Queen Elizabeth uses Windsor as her primary residence!! Queen Elizabeth happened to be home when we visited, and we saw where the 'royal apartments' in the castle were, but of course royal guards don't let civilians within any reasonable distance to knock on her door.
The castle sits on a hill that overlooks the Thames and the green landscape below. It is fortified with huge stone walls, and even has a moat, which is filled with beautiful gardens (it was never actually used as a water moat because it was higher than the river and they didn't want to pump water up the hill). It is the type of place that dreams are made of - I'm sure Disney took a lot of inspiration from the high stone turrets, winding pathways, and arched tunnels.
We walked the grounds and heard royal stories from a well-informed docent. We toured elegant state rooms and banquet halls that are still used today for royal and diplomatic affairs. We watched a royal guard change, and then pestered the guard by posing for a bunch of pictures with the other tourists (The guy has flashes in his face all day, and he has to keep a straight face!!) We also attended an 'evensong' service in Windsor Castle's very own Anglican cathedral.
The cathedral had dazzling stained glass windows, high vaulted ceilings and intricate woodwork. We sat in the choir area and watched from a really close distance. The service included an excellent choir of young boys and men, organ music, and a Vicar (priest) who presented passages and lessons learned from the old and new testaments. I am grateful we were able to stop for a few moments to listen, learn and absorb this unique and reverent atmosphere.