White Windsor Weekend

Last week we visited the lovely city of Windsor.  

We had a lovely time and took some lovely pictures.   

And here is my lovely trip review full of lovely and witty writing.

The Lovely Windsor Castle

Actually, the cold and snow has sucked the life out of me.  

But, because of my imaginary, self-imposed blogging schedule, 

I'm determined to get this post out so I don't get behind. 

(I would hate to have to send myself a memo about my failure to meet a deadline.)

So, this blog will be neither lovely nor witty.  

It will, instead, be short and sweet with visual aids. 

Raiding the mini-bar... Pinot Grigio and Jelly Beans!  It's a party!

We stayed at the MacDonald Windsor.  It was nice.  

Dinner & Drinks at the Cattle Grid.  It was so-so. 

Cheers!

G&T with Ice AND Lemon... very high maintenance.

Beautiful, sunny Saturday to spend exploring Windsor Castle.   

We took the extra kitchen tour and were able to visit the semi-private rooms as the Queen was not in residence.  We spent a good 5 hours exploring. 

Queen Victoria Statue, unveiled for her Golden Jubilee in 1857. 

The Round Tower

Of course we got the Audio Tour.  I think this was stop #5.

St. George's Chapel - Henry VIII is buried there.

We saw the Changing of the Guard. 

These young men are soldiers and many have served overseas. 

It was very special to experience.

I love Gargoyles.

Bigfoot playing the bagpipes?

I don't know why, but it tickles me that in proper Britain the signs say "Toilets" instead of "Restrooms."

Lower Quadrant close to the Queens Quarters.

We stopped at the Undercroft Cafe for a scone with jam & clotted cream.  It was nummy!

It was a very cold day, but we avoided the Summer crowds and had a great visit.

And guess what happened on the way to dinner?!!?!?

It started SNOWING!!!  I was very excited... it's been years since I've seen a proper snow. 

We thought maybe we should stock up at the corner store in case we were snowed in.  

That looks good, huh?

Instead, we went to Cumin & Coriander (#1 on Tripadvisor) for 

my very first visit to an Indian Restaurant!  

It was so good!  

We even decided to try a Gurkha Restaurant the next night...  

The Hungry Eye (#2 on Tripadvisor).  

I'm eager to continue my Indian Food education.  

    Because of the snow we stayed an extra day and spent Sunday exploring and shopping.     (Cath Kidson oven mitts!  New Pandora charm - Tea Cup!  Christmas Ornaments, of course.  Oh! and I also found some Fudge PopTarts and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups at a Sweet Shop!) 

We strolled over the Thames and explored a little bit of Eton High Street. 

Everyone was enjoying the snow.  

We spied some schoolboys throwing snowballs at the buses as they passed by.  

There were kids making snowmen on the castle lawn 

amidst the "Keep off the lawn" signs. 

Windsor is a beautiful city and I can't wait to go back. 

Greetings from Windsor!

Here's the slideshow.  Cheers! 

And here is a proper lovely and witty Windsor Trip Review  by a fellow expat.  Lot's of great info!

1 Month Well-Expat Check up

I can't believe it's already February!  We've been here for about a month now, so I thought I'd do an update on how I'm dealing after my first month as an expat.

Where else would we start but with... THE WEATHER.  I've lived "up North," so I know a little about cold weather.   The weather here has been decent this month.  Mostly blue skies, there has been a little mist and fog.  It has turned very cold recently, but shivers-cold, not crunchy-nostrils-cold (if you've lived "up North" then you get this).   I understand that it's been an unseasonably mild January and snow is in the forecast.  But, so far, so good. 

Next... the food.  The food hasn't been too big of an issue.  As I'm currently living in an English household, we do have potatoes every day.  But, you'll never hear me complain about that.  The eating out options are varied.  I do miss the comfort of going to a chain restaurant and knowing exactly what's on the menu.  Each time we go out I have to spend 20 minutes actually reading the menu.

I can feel myself getting closer to Phase 2 as I'm starting to really miss certain things.  I've managed to come up with a short list, just a few things off the top of my head.

• My daughter.  This a constant ache that I can't really write about.  I'm sure most of you know the feeling of not being able to touch someone that you desperately long to touch.  Thank God for FaceTime!!! 

•  My wonderful, crazy family.   I miss being with people that really know me, get me and love me anyway.

• My friends.  I desperately need a girls night out complete with wine, gossiping, bitching, wine, trying on shoes, wine and laughter.  

• Wendy's Apple Pecan Chicken Salad.  I had this for lunch every day for two years and I'm suffering from withdrawal.  

• Iced Tea.  I think my in-laws would disown me if I made iced tea in their kitchen.  

• Accounting.  Yes, that makes me a geek, but I really, really miss my job!!  I've even stopped dreaming in debits and credits!  I have got to get back to work... soon!

• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  There are lots of chocolate options here, but milk chocolate tastes funny.  Not quite sure why. 

• Kitty purrs and doggie kisses.  I've tried snuggling with my stuffed hippo, but it's just not the same.  

• Wearing flip-flops

• My garden tub

• Tex-Mex with proper chips & salsa

• A decent Cosmo.  I don't really like beer and while G&T's are wonderful... I miss a good Cosmo.  I will have to add a Cosmo Quest to the Queso Quest. 

• American TV.  I've missed the new Bachelor.  Pout!  And I'm missing the new Glee episodes!!  I think it's on here somewhere, but I haven't found it yet. 

• My car.  I miss driving.  Public transport is great, but I can't handle not driving.  I'm going to go ahead and take some lessons.  Locals, beware.

• Cooking.  No snickering, I'm serious.  I miss having a kitchen and cooking. 

• Proper Mani & Pedi.  I went to a salon and it was a'ight, but the fill didn't involve any power tools, which is just wrong.  And the pedi involved me putting my feet in a English girls lap, which was even more wrong.  I need to find someplace with power tools and massage chairs.  Another quest!

I also miss feeling comfortable in my own skin.  We are staying in the home Matt grew up in.  His parents have been wonderful!  But, I am certainly odd man out.  At moments it feels like I'm "American" before anything else. Everything I say and do is filtered through a British worldview and an inordinate amount of our family conversations involve what I've got all wrong.  However, I don't care if you call tinfoil "ah-loo-MIN-yoo-um", I will continue to say "ah-LOO-min-um!"  And, by the way, that does not make me wrong (stomping foot).

Lastly, I miss having my own space.  We've been living out of suitcases for a month now and as you can tell from the pouting and foot stomping, it's starting to wear on my charming, cheerful, Texas personality, ya'll.  And quite honestly, some days I would be very happy with my old, cozy comfort zone.  But, time to "quit the whinging."  Hopefully, things will be more settled by my 2-month well baby expat check up.  

Now, where's my princess bandaid and lollipop! 

The Lovely Leeds Castle

On Monday, we decided to spend the day at Leeds Castle.  

So we bundled up and drove the 40 minutes from Folkestone to Maidstone to see

"The Loveliest Castle in the World."  

Leeds Castle, Kent, England

The Castle was built in 1119 on two islands on a lake and 

became a royal palace in 1278 for King Edward I.   

We began our walk through the grounds to the castle and were immediately greeted by the welcoming committee. 

Squirrel!!

The grounds are beautiful!  Rolling green lawn with ponds and waterways.

Lady Baillie was the last private owner and she loved birds.  
The estate is a home to a large variety.  

The Black Swan is the symbol of the Castle. Lady Baillie was the first to import them from Australia to the U.K.

  Matt was freezing by this point so we headed to the Castle.  (I was enjoying the brisk weather and was feeling quite toasty.  Pre-menopause... the silver lining?)

We picked up our handy dandy Audio-Tours, pushed play (in sync, of course) and began exploring the Castle. 

 

The castle has undergone many additions and changes over 900 years with it's Norman Foundation, Medieval gatehouse, Edwardian Gloriette, Tudor Tower 
and 19th Century Country House. 

The Queen's Bathroom

In 1278, the Castle became a part of the dower for the Queens of England and was held by six medieval queens over 150 years.  Some of the rooms in the older Gloriette have been restored to the medieval period.  

In 1552, the estate was granted to a noble and has been in private ownership since that time.    

Olive, Lady Baillie, was the last private owner.  She was the daughter of an American Heiress and English Lord.  She purchased the Castle in 1926 with the 2nd of her 3 husbands.  She completely refurbished the property using French architects and designers.

The newer section of the Castle is restored to how the residence was in the 20's and 30's when Lady Baillie lived and entertained there. 

We both wanted to linger for days in the Library.

   

After a nice lunch on the property at The Fairfax, we visited "the largest collection of dog collars on public display in England."  (I know, right?  That's what we said.) 

 

  We then visited the Aviary.  Between the peekaboo playing Kia and the Laughing Kookaburras, there were lots of giggles (me) and eye rolling (Matt).

We ended our day with a trip through the maze to the the Grotto.  It is a modern addition and a bit out of place, but still a lot of fun!

My 6'4" Englishman got us through the maze safely.

 Leeds Castle was a perfect day out, even on a brisk English day!

 

My trip report wouldn't be complete without the slideshow.  
In 5 hours, I somehow managed to take 400 pictures.  I've narrowed them down to less than 200 (wasn't that sweet of me?) and here's the link if you want to see more.  
Don't forget to grab a cocktail first!!