london: day 2

sunday: 29th june, 2008
in which we take a trip to see a castle...

we wake at 9am: showers, breakfast, emails, but again, we are rushing. literally running, all the way to king's cross station, to catch the tube to paddington, to catch the train to windsor (changing at slough.) we just missed our train and had to wait a half hour for the next one, but i didn't really mind. we got to wander paddington station, show francis paddington's statue: "please look after this bear", and i tried to get cash out (failure, and on-going snafu and frustration) and also, i desperately needed the toilet (another failure: cost 20p and i had no coins!) i decided to wait for the train, but once on, discover to my dismay: OH NO! NO TOILETS! (sigh) bursting and miserable, i just have to hold it 45mins and wait...

on the train, francis is tired and slouchy. he keeps bumping knees with the man in front of him (seats facing together.) the more i correct him, the more exasperated and slouchy he becomes. (sigh) i miss greg...

we finally get to windsor, and i finally get to pee! ruth and i get lattes, and head for the castle. francis is gobsmacked as soon as we walk out of the station, because there it is, windsor castle, sitting right in front of you. something that i always marvel at in england, and europe: ancient sites may have the age-old respect of not being torn down, however, modernity didn't keep its distance, and crowds up right next to it, utilizing every inch of space. old...shoulder to shoulder with the new...





there's a queue, and a security check, and the guards now hold guns. we finally get inside, but somehow, it is already almost 2pm. and the castle closes at 5. oh well for our "early start"...

francis can't walk 10 feet without taking a picture. he is truly excited to the core seeing a real live castle! i decided this is HIS day, and let him stop and take all the pictures he wants. i've already been here. i am determined to not rush him.

windsor castle was built in 1165, and is one of the great surviving medieval castles, and not only that, has housed the british royal family for over 900 years, and still does, to this day. we asked a guard if the queen was in. he replied: " i can not answer you that. the queen is in residence when her flag is flying." we looked up: the flag was flying.

only too soon, i must confess, i am bursting for the toilet again. (damn that latte!) i inquire to discover there is ONE set of public toilets, and they are on the far other side, so there we trek. it's a blustery gray british day, and there's not too many tourists. guards march by, with stern faces, and real guns, and francis is overjoyed and takes about 300 pictures in one fell swoop. (we haven't gotten around to editing his yet, but mine i've started to narrow down to a few dozen a day: you can find the rest on my flickr.)



we succumb to the touristy must-see, and join the queue to see "queen mary's dollhouse", which is frankly, quite impressive, but what francis really wants to see is: the armour, the weapons, the coat of arms...it's so huge inside, it takes us 2 hours to tour the state rooms, and that's even without francis taking pictures (he was very sad they were not allowed. i, however, did not mind it.)

when we finally emerge to the light of day, we are famished, and crash on a bench to eat our packed lunch. i'm already guessing that we'll miss out on tea-time again, today. and i am right.



we find st. george's chapel closed, because it is a sunday, but discover you may attend an actual service, at 5:15pm, after the castle grounds close. i think that would be fantastic, and ruth agrees, so we stay: for church, in the castle chapel!quite an experience! beautiful ornate chapel, intricate stained glass. the service was sung by a boy's choir. francis reprimands me for sneaking a few pictures with my cell-phone...probably not a good example for my boy who obeyed the rules back in the state rooms.



with the castle now closed, and the rest of the shops in town following suit, (it is a sunday in england: shops close) we decide to head back to ruth's for supper, and to pack up; francis and i are heading to our free hotel for two nights, courtesy of a british airways special offer.

but by the time we get back, between packing up, emailing greg, etc...we don't get out until well past 10pm, and this is still without supper! we say good-bye to ruth, who is off to the pub with friends, and we head to the tube, for russell square. no mapquest. just an address and a london city map.

the station is clamouring with football(soccer) fans whooping and cheering, and i find out spain just won the euro cup. they're running, yelling, waving flags, and a whole group of them cram on the train, pushed up against us. we were standing just inside the doors with our luggage, as we only had 2 stops to go, and just before the doors closed, about 20 people rushed in and crowded around us, still singing their victory, and jumping up and down. the conductor came back and opened the doors and yelled to be heard: "oi! you can yell all you like, but no jumping up and down. you're rocking the whole train!" they apologize and stop jumping, but continue singing at the top of their lungs. francis, small, surrounded by all these yelling grown-ups: but they were smiling at him, and i was smiling too. maybe he will remember this in years to come?

the station we needed was closed for repairs! (just like in the board game: "miss one turn!") and so we hopped off in confusion at holborn. hmmm...now to walk back to russell square, with our luggage, in the dark deserted sunday night of london city streets. i ask directions and off we head.



this whole time i had been excited for our hotel experience. i saw the pictures and read the blurbs, and assumed it was a nice hotel. originally, it had been intended to be with greg; the plan was for us to meet up with him earlier, but things changed, and we kept the booking, besides, it was free. however, when we found it, i realized why they were giving rooms away for free, and it couldn't be to attract business: after staying there, i probably wouldn't have paid to stay there again.



it was like being in a motel, except on the 7th floor, and thru such a labyrinth of hallways, that i actually got lost and had to go down to reception and ask again. i was frustrated and tired and hungry. it was past 11pm. when we finally got to our room, there were two single beds. (where would we have all fit if greg was with us?)it was tiny. BUT: francis didn't seem to notice. he was so excited. he immediately claimed a bed and said: "isn't this nice?" could i really complain? we had a place to sleep in the heart of london. we even had a bathtub. he checked out our view from the window, of the courtyard below, and when we opened the window, we could still hear football fans chanting and whooping from victory: apparently many of them were staying here. he turned on the tv and immediately found "coming to america" with eddie murphy. he asked if he could watch it. as he has seen that movie on quite a few rainy sunday afternoons with greg, i said ok. besides, i still had to go hunt us down a supper.

my search for food ended with the hotel caferteria restaurant, apparently still open for a little while longer, take-out only. i paid &6.50 for an old dry fish and chips and roll. (sigh) passing the hotel bar, i decided it would go down much better with a gin and tonic, and happily paid the &3.50. took the tray back up to our room, and we gorged ourselves, supplementing it with an apple from my bag, and ribena (blackcurrant cordial you add to water) i had brought with us.

it seemed a shame to go to bed just yet, even tho it is so late, it is vacation after all, so i opted instead on: a bath, organizing our stuff, trying to figure out what to do the next few days, and then i sent francis to bed, to catch up in my journal after he fell asleep (which was promptly), by the light of the bathroom.

somehow, in the end, day 2 was still so rushed we didn't even get tea or supper. ??
this will not do!

this is our vacation and i want us to be relaxed and enjoying ourselves.

francis wants to go to a bookstore, to spend the british bookstore coupon that ruth's mum sent him. he wants to see the british museum. buckingham palace. he asked to see a toy shop. ride a cab. to go to elephant and castle to see the imperial war museum. (which he learned about, by the way, from an old british boardgame from my childhood called "the london underground". i first had to make sure it was still there! it is.)

we have two full days until we meet up with greg on wednesday. can't wait for that!
i need to go to bed now.
i called the operator to ask what time it was (2:10am!) and to ask for a wake-up call tomorrow morning...at least there's free breakfast...