Saturday in Windsor

On Saturday, we took the train to Windsor. We planned to spend the day with Kevin’s friend/coworker Heather and her friend, Mark. Since Kevin had been away from home for several days longer than me, he was quickly running out of clean clothes. On Friday afternoon , we had dropped his clothes at a laundry service. In an effort to save precious minutes Saturday morning, we agreed that Kevin would run to pick up his clean clothes and double back to the hotel before meeting me at the train station. I was to walk to the train station alone, purchase our tickets and wait for Kevin to make it back. Unless you have been there, I don’t think I can adequately describe how friggin busy Paddington station actually is. It’s nuts.



I made it to the station and made my way to the ticket counter. After waiting in line for quite a while, it was my turn. I calmly repeated the instructions Kevin had given me. "I need two tickets to Maidenhead with a connection to Windsor and return to Paddington.” I was feeling pretty proud of myself for remembering when the pasty, overweight bag of sweat behind the counter barked something unintelligible at me through the glass window. Uh oh. "Excuse me?” I said, trying desperately not to sound like an American. Bag of sweat barks again from window. “Uh, ok I guess.” I stammer. He rolls his eyes, takes my credit card and hands me back tickets to somewhere…


I was guessing that I still had a few minutes before Kevin made it to the station so I went in search of coffee. I say I was guessing because I realized on this trip that I rely too heavily on my cellphone as a watch. Since I had no cell service, I had no method of telling time…ever. It was kinda wonderful and kinda infuriating all at the same time. I wandered around until I found a familiar sight. London has recently been invaded by a little company that you may have heard of…

Apparently Krispy Kreme is not satisfied with merely fattening up the entire United States so they have crossed the pond.
Thank God.
I rushed into that place as if it were a sanctuary. The lady at the counter asked me if I wanted to try their new flavoring syrup. I ususally don't go for that stuff but as I was shaking my head she said "The syrup tastes just like the glaze we put on the doughnuts." I responded with a hearty "Hell Yeah!" A few seconds later I finally got my first cup of familiar coffee. It was sublime and I think it cost roughly the equivalent of 6 American dollars. At that point, I probably would have paid ten. I’m not proud of that.




Kevin arrived at the station and we boarded the train. After a 30 minute ride, we made a connection at the town of Slough. That’s when I realized what the ticket attendant had been yelling through the window. “Connect at Slough!” Ooops. After the connection, it was a very short trip to Windsor. We met Heather and Mark and headed to Windsor Castle. It was so beautiful that I really feel like words can’t encompass it. And the whole experience was so surreal. I stood inches from original drawings done by Leonardo DaVinci and paintings by Vermeer and Van Dyck. We toured room after room and each one was more ornate and opulent than the last. Honestly, my eyes were tired.

We left Windsor castle and walked down to have lunch at a restaurant by the water’s edge. One of the interesting difference between Britain and the US is that waiters/waitresses could care less about customer service. They are paid a living wage by their employers so tips are just extra. Therefore they don’t seem to have any real incentive to give you good service. (Of course, my protest that their incentive should be the fact that it is their job kinda fell on deaf ears.) Anyway, we ate on the deck overlooking the water. The view, the company, the conversation and the alcohol converged to create an almost perfect afternoon. Lunch took the better part of three hours but it was wonderful. In addition to the lovely alcoholic apple cider, Mark introduced us to this great drink consisting of half lemonade and half beer. Sweet biscuits, it was delicious.




We somehow stumbled back to the train station for the trip back to London. The only real benefit to the public transportation system in London is that you never have to worry about a designated driver. We were going to make a quick trip back to the hotel to change clothes before meeting back up with Heather and Mark to see Mamma Mia.



The theatre was located in Piccadilly Circus. This place was crazy. I have never seen so many people. Everywhere you looked were buses, taxis, cars and a neverending stream of pedestrians. I really loved the movie version of Mamma Mia so I had high hopes for the musical. I was not disappointed. Broadway style musicals are one of my great joys. The energy of a live audience is a big part of the experience and this particular audience was on fire. They danced. They sang. They laughed. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.