On a mission to raid Her Majesty’s closet in Windsor

Without much success of course. For one, her Majesty wasn’t in residence that day. Secondly, we were too salty to spend any money exploring the castle grounds unless we had access to her wardrobe.

Windsor is a very idyllic town to walk in- it retains much of its Old Victorian charm, and with the River Thames flowing through the town, picturesque scenes on a clear day are not to be missed. Swans are aplenty along the river bank, just below Queen’s bridge, and eagerly move towards you as they do expect to be treated like royalty- i.e. expect to be fed. Do watch out for swan poo as you walk along the banks- they could be easily mistaken for green moss.

Before we set off on the cruise, we had Sunday roast for lunch at King and Castle Pub, a Wetherspoon chain of pubs and restaurants. The roast was lovely but the potatoes tasted stale-kinda like those which had been kept in the fridge for too long. Nevertheless, the ambience and company made up for it.

A bit oversaturated I know, but you can make out what was on my plate, right?

After lunch, we headed to the pier and cruised down River Thames.

We were greeted by a long parade of impressive, posh bungalows along the river bank which the Agong would be thrilled to stay in during summer. There is just something about residences along the rivers which makes it so alluring and enchanting.

Stretches and stretches of soothing green- talk of quality living. This is the epitome of luxury.

The Oakley Hotel greets us in its splendour. For a moment I thought I saw a miniature copy of Windsor Castle.

Water activities are in abundance in Windsor. These men look too mature to be Eton boys but they did a good job considering they were rowing against the current.

This is Bray Film Studios. I love the architecture.

This is Queen’s Bridge taken from the cruise.

And, in the words of the captain “One of the most breathtaking views from the cruise of Windsor Castle”.

Windsor also houses the most famous boy’s school in the world, Eton College. Founded by Henry VI in 1440 when he was only 18 years old, Eton has educated 18 British Prime Ministers and countless royalty and dignitaries. Both HRH Prince William and Prince Harry were Etoners. The schoolboys can be easily distinguished in town as they wear tailcoats, high collars and white ties to class. At an astonishing £26k per year in school fees, this is not the average Sekolah Kebangsaan which any Tom Dick or Harry can enter.

This is Eton College Chapel. It is a shame that photography isn’t allowed inside the Chapel, as the organ pipes were absolutely stunning! The wedding scene in Shakespeare in Love was filmed inside.

Visitors can pay £4.20 for an unguided tour (or £5.50) to enter the grounds of Eton College. It is worth going to the College Museum and watch the school video. I had the misconception that the school, being extremely prestigious and all, would reek of typical British stiff upper-lipness. To the contrary, the school video which was played in the Museum did exactly the opposite. Eton portrays itself as a school which maintains age old tradition, but is on par with other schools in terms of academics, infrastructure and overall development of its boys. It came as a nice surprise. I did manage to snap a picture with 2 Etoners, and friends and family can view them on facebook.

After all that walking and cruising, it was time for tea. I really loved this strawberry tart but I would not recommend going to this shop (its 2 shops away from King and Castle Pub) as they are very expensive.

ARch was inspired by a postcard picture of Windsor castle taken from this angle so we walked down to try to take the same picture! Not bad at all.

And last but not least, here’s the Crooked House of Windsor, a pub. I don’t really know how it maintains its stature with the sengeted structure, but it was something which caught our eye and here it is, making its mark on this blog!

We had a good time in WIndsor. Decided to give Legoland a miss as its best to visit the theme park during summer.