Grandest of the past, brightest of the future

After an adventure filled Saturday night (that included packing 5 people into a bicycle taxi and consequently pushing it up a hill at 3AM with the members of a recently signed, next-big-thing British/American band) that ended in a stumble home in the wee hours of the morning, I was ready to up the classiness quotient for my Sunday entertainment. Thus, I embarked on a day trip out to Windsor Castle, a major tourist attraction yes, but for very good reason!

The Castle is almost a millennium old, dating back to the days of William the Conqueror and over the centuries it has been adapted by the royal family to suit whatever purpose they saw fit. Today it still functions as a venue for parties, meetings, and general essential matters of state. Walking through the vast banquet halls and gilded waiting rooms drowned in fantastic works of art was heart swellingly inspiring. New life goal: go to a party (I'd say host, but that would be REALLY pushing it) at Windsor Castle.

They wouldn't let anyone take pictures inside the castle (otherwise I would have posted a pic of one of my longtime favorites, Da Vinci's Head of the Madonna - gave me chills to see the real thing!) but as you can see, the outside gives a pretty good impression of how grand the inside must be.

(more castle...)

(What was once the castle's moat is now a garden.)

(St. George's Cathedral)

(Cool sky above St. George's Cathedral)

(St. George defeating the dragon! Def one of my favorite medieval heroes. After Robin Hood, of course.)

(Wide-view. Note the plane overhead. Planes fly over Windsor several times an hour which adds and interesting element to the ancient buildings.)

(This was just a really cool wall. Something about the pattern and colors makes me want to turn it into a crazy structured, double breasted jacket or something...)

Across the Thames from the village surrounding the castle is the small town of Eton, home to the most prestigious public boys school in the world: Eton College. The school played such a prominent role in my childhood storytime memories (umm Captain Hook went to Eton before he became a pirate, duh!) that I had to head over and snoop around for a bit.

(The Thames between Windsor and Eton. It was SUCH a hot day, everyone was swimming and lying out in the parks along the banks)

(The dome thing? Yeah, that's their library...)

(Eton-ness)
(Eton dorms. Sooooo pretty!)

(In true British fairytale manner, I spotted a courtyard past a wrought iron gate, followed it past gravestones and a church to a secret garden and an opening to a wide field the students used for sports. Felt a little bit like Chronicles of Narnia.)

After exploring Eton, I spotted an adorable cafe by the bridge (called the Theater of Chocolate - they offer lots of different kinds of hot chocolate) and sat down for a perfect cup of afternoon tea. With a book in hand, I read about the history of Dior and Ferragamo with Windsor castle and the grandest figures of the past on one hand and Eton College and the brightest minds of the future on the other. I sipped my tea with what I hoped was true British poise and precision, combined with a divinely American (and perhaps a little French) audacity to enjoy the afternoon delights on my own.