Hello all!
I think when I last wrote I said we were choosing between day trips to Windsor Castle and London. It has been two days and we've done both! We went to Windsor Castle first, on Sunday. It was so fun and pretty! It was a bit silly getting there- we first got on the correct line going the wrong direction (whoops!) But we arrived successfully, and had potatoes (each of us got a different topping- mine was tuna) before heading over to the castle. It was an exciting time to be there because the Queen considers it her home, so she was spending four weeks there for Easter. That meant that her flag, the Queen Standard, was flying- when she leaves, Tony the Flagman will change it to the Union Jack.
In the castle, the best things were definitely Queen Mary's Dollhouse (which has real paintings by famous artists and a working piano) and the seals and swords and armour of the Knights of the Garter. It's also always neat seeing 17th century graffiti;-)
Today we went to London and saw Westminster Abbey and had lunch in Trafalgar Square before heading over to the National Gallery. We'd intended to visit both that museum and the Tate Britain, but being the art geeks we are we ended up spending nearly five full hours wandering just the National Gallery. I'm so glad we did because really it's a toss up between that and the Louvre for my favorite museums in the world (so far!). My absolute favorite things I saw on this trip were:
Leonardo da Vinci- The Virgin of the Rocks
Peter Paul Rubens- Samson and Delilah
Delaroche- The Execution of Lady Grey
Claude Lorrain- Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba
Renoir- The Umbrellas
We have also been making audio tours of places we can't take photos in using Jill's recorder. These tours provide commentary from the Quad on very important features such as a sword with a disco ball attached to the end in Windsor Castle and the painting titled "A Very Grotesque Old Woman" in the National Gallery (which is really exactly what it sounds like.) On a similarly entertaining note, we have been very amused by the train and tube stops here. Some favorites so far have been Twickenham Station and Tooting Broadway. Yup, we are mature grown-ups.
Must be off to bed- big day tomorrow visiting Bath and Stonehenge! Hope everyone is well.
Love to all,
Sara
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