We don’t follow the British Royals as closely as some, and don’t even know much about them, but when you do visit England, and you happen to spend some time looking over the palaces and castles, it’s hard not to be totally awed by the experience.
The town of Windsor offers lots of shopping and other interesting shops as you make your way to Windsor Castle.
Windsor Castle is just the kind of place that will cause you to step back and reflect on the magnitude of what was accomplished just to build it, and then to ponder the notion of what it’s taken to maintain and operate the palace since its very beginning. We spend a lot of time at Disney in Orlando, where there are castles and palaces all over in the form of very convincing props for a great theme park, But when we went to Windsor Castle, we had to keep reminding ourselves that this was the real deal. Built in the 11th century before workmen had cranes and diesel powered excavating equipment. At Windsor the stones were placed by real people who toiled long hours for very little pay, if any. And to maintain these grounds for so many centuries is still something that stretches our American (meaning no clear grasp of long term history) way of thinking beyond our imagination.
Needless to say, we were impressed the day we spent at Windsor Castle and it’s on our list to come back next time we’re in England. Knowing that Her Majesty The Queen prefers this palace as her weekend spot, that many state events are conducted here, and that it’s the largest palace in Europe with the longest continuous occupancy helps to fuel the imagination. Knowing that it serves as a home for the Royals yet still managed to accommodate over a million tourists between 2010 and 2011 speaks to the level of resourcefulness and organization.
We were impressed with England when we visited last April. We were there for only a couple of days and made a promise to return and see more of this fascinating country soon. As it turns out, we’re able to return next May, 2014, so you can make a point to check back then to hear more about our impressions of this great country.
