Today we toured the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, Windsor Castle. It is one of Queen Elizabeth II's favorite residences and is over 900 years old. We all got the audio headsets which made it a fun and educational experience. I just love castles -- the mystery and history -- thinking back to all those people who once lived and dined and danced and carried on. Some are now buried at St. George's Chapel which is on the castle grounds. My absolute favorite part was seeing King Henry VIII's suit of armor, all short and stubby! That guy was insane, however for some reason I find him intriguing as well. Queen Mary's dollhouse was amazing to say the least. Also Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret's doll collection and clothes (including some designed by Dior) puts American Girl to shame! The girls oohed and ahhed over that section. Six-year-old Braden was so impressed with all the swords and guns from knights of an era gone by. The way the swords, guns, and armor were displayed took up many state apartments. Everywhere you turned were suits of armor of one kind or another. There were gigantic tapestries on the walls, not only to be displayed as a piece of art (as they were intricately designed and actually looked more like paintings than tapestries) but in the days before the castle had heat it helped to keep the cold out.
The drawing and photograph collection were on display -- my favorite was witnessing the incredible talent of Leonardo da Vinci's drawings. The professional photographs of Queen Elizabeth as a child through adulthood with her own children, Charles and Anne, were touching as well.
Lastly, we stopped into St. George's Chapel, which is also the church Prince Edward and Sophie got married in among many other famous unions. Several funerals have taken place there as well, and many royals are buried there, including Henry VIII. In fact, we stood right above his remains! In the evening, once Mike got home, we went on The Windsor Wheel, a ferris wheel near the River Thames. It was a beautiful view from up there, but I almost didn't go, yet I couldn't just pack my family on without me! So I put on my (not so) brave face and actually enjoyed it--luckily I had my camera to play with till it was over ;-)
