Alan has a business trip to England. I used a buddy pass to accompany him. He and his co-worker Leila left on Thursday, July 3. There flight was scheduled to leave at 9:30 PM, but didn’t depart until 1:30 AM due to mechanical issues. Business class made their trip much nicer than riding in coach. They arrived safely.
Meanwhile, Austin and Amanda were spending time at Lake Allatoona with Gina, Steve, and Jeremy. Obviously we won’t make the annual 4th of July visit this year.
I got a flight on Friday, July 4. By the time that I arrived on Saturday morning, Alan was already at Wimbledon. He stood in the queue and got a reasonably priced ticket. We can mark this off his bucket list! He had a “brilliant” time! At one point, he was walking and everyone started taking pictures of him. He looked around and he was walking beside Novak Djokovic – who ended up winning the Wimbledon title.
I contacted Leila when I arrived at the hotel – the Sir Christopher Wren. We walked to Windsor Castle.
St. George’s Chapel is amazing.
On Sunday, Neel another one of Alan’s Travelport co-workers, picked us up and we drove out to Warwick Castle. It is 1100 years old! We toured the rooms in the castle and walked 532 steps to the top of the guards tower. Alan was barely breathing hard. Neel and I were just proud to have made it without clogging up the one way path to the top. Leila stayed below and ate ice cream.
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| Peacocks roamed freely on the grounds. |
After the castle visit, we drove to Stratford-on-Avon. We had an afternoon tea.
It rained while we had tea so rainbows filled the sky for the drive home. Because the sun doesn’t set until about 9:30 PM, we had time to stroll around Windsor when we returned from today’s adventure. We found the Diamond Jubilee Fountain.
Monday – Alan and Leila had to work so I was a solo tourist. I wandered back to Windsor to go through St. George’s Chapel again. When I came out, a barricade had been set up. It was time for the changing of the guard. I also expanded my horizons by finding both rail stations in Windsor and a lot of shops.
When Alan and Leila returned from work, we had tea while it rained. After tea and a nap, Alan and I walked to Eton College. The Eton Library is on the main road as well.
Tuesday – I left the hotel in search of Frogmore. Since I left my map in the room, I didn’t find it. I did, however, find “The Long Walk”.
Wednesday – Alan and Leila worked a half day from the hotel. We then walked to the train station and rode in to Waterloo. We then got on a double decker bus to tour London. It was very crowded – cars and walkers. We decided against visiting the Tower of London because the line seemed endless. Leila is a shopper so we headed to Harrod’s. We hadn’t eaten lunch and it was after 4. We purchased food in Harrod’s and ate outside on the benches. Then we made the return trip to Windsor. I was glad to be back to the slower, quainter town. We got another snack and fed the swans. It didn’t rain at all today – very nice.
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| We had time to feed the swans when we returned from our time in London. |
Thursday – Alan’s day didn’t start well. The car died on the way to work and he had to push it out of the road.
While he and Leila spent a long day at work, I walked to the end of the “Long Walk”. I walked over 7 miles today. I was exhausted.
We ate an Italian dinner, took a short walk, and fed the swans again.
Friday – The sun rises by 5 AM here. Alan woke up early and decided to go for a walk. He found the Long Walk, saw the swans sleeping, and took pictures of the beautiful flowers!
I did not get up early. We are going to Paris tomorrow so I am resting today. It rained this morning and is overcast. My goal for the day was to get tickets from Waterloo back to Windsor for tomorrow night after our Paris tour. I accomplished that and then I walked across the street the Chocolate Café for lunch. I sat on the Windsor/Eton Bridge and watched people, swans, and boats. When Alan and Leila came home, we ate dinner and then fed the swans at sunset. We went to bed early because we will be getting up early!
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| View from the Eton side of the pedestrian bridge looking at Windsor Castle. Our hotel is just over the bridge on the right. |
Saturday – The alarm goes off and 3:45 A.M. and we are off! We had a car service pick us up at 4:30 A.M. and take us to the St. Pancras Station in London where we met our tour group at 5:30 A.M. and got on the Eurostar train. The ride was 2 hours and 15 minutes. A lady on our train talked loud and nonstop the entire way. I’m not sure that she ever paused for breath. It put a big dent in our morning nap time.
When we arrived in Paris, we followed Michael – our tour guide – to the bus. We took a bus tour through Paris. The architecture and history are amazing. We have 3 stops today: a tour on the Seine River, the Eiffel Tower, and the Lourve. It was a great day!
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| The bridges are even beautiful. |
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| On the boat tour |
One of the benefits of being on a tour is already having tickets and going to the front of the line! We rode the elevator to the second level (about 40 stories high). There was not enough time to go to the top.
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| On the elevator at the Eiffel Tower. We were packed in. |
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| The taller buildings in the background are outside of the Paris city limits. |
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| This is the one tall building that received permission to go above the height restriction in Paris. |
Our final stop of the day is the Lourve. We went straight to the Mona Lisa and then roamed freely. There is SO much to see here. You could spend the entire day walking the halls and grounds.
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| A treat in the terminal waiting to go back to London. |
Sunday, July 13 – This trip just keeps getting better! We originally planned to go to Hampton Court today but they are having a floral festival and the crowds will be ridiculous so we need a new plan. Last week we visited Warwick Castle and I mentioned that one day I would like to visit Leeds Castle too. Neel remembered this statement and today we are going to Leeds!!
The castle is surrounded by a moat and water fowl – including peacocks and black swans imported from Australia. It is beautiful.
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| A wedding was being held in the building on the right. |
After Leeds, we headed for “home”. Neel drove by their office so I would have an idea of where my husband spent his days while I played tourist. Then we ate at the Ostrich Pub (see story and model below). We have had another great day!
Monday – I am running out of time! Today I took a boat tour on the Thames. It is such a peaceful river. Boys from Eton practice rowing here. The Windsor Race Course is along the Thames. Lots of boats are moored on the shoreline. The houses are wonderful. There is even a “trailer park” on the shore. Boats have to go through locks on the river so it takes quite a while to travel.
Alan and Leila were taken out to eat by their British co-workers. They went to a Greek restaurant. So I went to “evensong” at St. George’s Chapel. Many of the patrons were dressed very nicely. I was in tourist garb. Nonetheless, I went in. Listening to the gentlemen of the choir sing and recite prayers reminded me of who created all of this splendor that I have thoroughly enjoyed!
Tuesday – My last day to play. I revisited all the places that I have enjoyed in Windsor and said goodbye to the swans. We ate at a place that Michelle had recommended – Wagamama. Leila and I split a dessert.
Wednesday – Time for me to come home. I was able to get business class coming back to the states. It was fabulous. While I was flying home, Alan and Leila were working until 9 PM. They came back to the hotel, ordered room service, and packed. It was a long day for them.
Thursday – Alan has breakfast on the hotel patio overlooking the Thames. It is a great parting photo.
The King Family 
