Windsor Castle and Chipping Camden in the Cotswolds! ( don't you love the names?!)

Another wonderful day has come to an end in the tiny village of Chipping Camden!! We are staying in a charming (they invented that word for this village and hotel)  hotel called Cotswold House.  The day began with a wonderful tour of Windsor Castle.  We saw the regimental band marching and the changing of the Guard.  The Queen's flag was not flying at the Castle, so she was not here today.  Windsor Castle is really her home, though.  Buckingham Palace is used for state occasions and she is still there quite a bit, but the country castle is the residence of choice!  The weather was gorgeous today.  I think the British would say that summer finally arrived!

Our great guide, Debbie, gave us all the pertinent and interesting facts and things to look at as we toured the Castle. You are not allowed to take photos inside, so we all just have to remember the fantastic rooms and their treasures.  There is a famous Dollhouse presented to Queen Mary (the current Queen's grandmother) when she was a child.  It is exquisite in every detail -- right down to running water from the miniature taps, working electric lights, inlaid wooden desk with drawers that open and a library of miniature leather books that authors like Rudyard Kipling actually wrote a few words in!  It is supposed to be the world's best doll house and I am a believer!  It is magnificent!  There were also life size porcelain dolls (4 feet tall) that were presented by the French government to the then Princesses Elizabeth ( age 12) and Margaret (age 7).  They came complete with a trunk of real designer clothes !( think real jewelry, embroidered leather gloves, purses, shoes, fur coats and a suitcase with hairbrushes and other vanity supplies).  The dolls even had their own convertible car!!  ( large enough for a four year old child to sit it!!). Quite something!! There are treasures everywhere!  From the magnificent Queen's guard armory ( think magnificent swords and antique guns) to the state dining room!  There was a disastrous fire at the Castle in Feb. 1992 .  Charles and Phillip handled the reconstruction of the castle which took 5 years.  The Royal Family paid for all the reconstruction. That is one of the reasons the Castle is now open to the public.  Elizabeth opened some parts of the castle for touring to help finance the reconstruction.  It has been beautifully restored.  

We also toured the second most important church, St George's, (on the grounds of Windsor) where even Henry the VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour are buried.  The current Queen's parents and her sister are also "resting" at St George's.  The most important church, (Cathedral) would be Westminster Abbey which will will see later in the week.  After a great tour, we boarded our bus ( how else do you move 9 people (including our guide, one stroller and 15 pieces of luggage?) and headed further into the countryside.  

A word about our hotel.  It is very old and charming looking from the outside, but all the rooms are totally modern-- right down to electric window blinds!  Our bed is quite something-- we're not sure what, though !  It is comfy, but we've never seen anything like it!  We're sleeping on plastic pins which move up and down according to the weight distribution.. I'm posting a photo of this unique "mattress"!

  We had a delicious meal across the street at the Noel Hotel Bar where we watched poor Roger Federer lose at Wimbledon..  Of course, unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who went down today.  Sharipova also lost along with several other players of note. There have been an unusual number of injuries with players slipping and sliding on the grass. We're grateful we were there the first two days since so many stars are bowing out early!!!  

Gaby entertained the entire pub tonight by passing out stickers to everyone.  The Fuller family had stickers placed on our foreheads ( see photos below) while others were lucky enough to have them put on their hand or shirts!  All were having a good time!!! She was adorable, even if I do say so!  She was "charming" like the village!!  

We're off tomorrow for further explorations so check back!!!

A good time was had by all!!

PS. I found some photos I took with panoramic view from my iPhone at Windsor and Wimbledon so I'm adding them to this blog!