Posh or Poo?

(Photo 1) The city of Windsor


(Photo 2) The Royal Swans - if you touch one, it is an automatic 5 years in prison


(Photo 3) Eton College - the elite boys school where the Princes have attended


(Photo 4) The dog in front is on a leash and he is holding in his mouth the leash of the dog in back. It was the cutest thing!


(Photo 5) Windsor Castle - the Official Residence of the Queen




(Photo 8) flowers still blooming in December




(Photo 11) Amy and Sara Beth before we ate the yucky meal at the Beefeater. Actually it wasn't all yuck but we wouldn't want to ever go back!


(Photo 12) The girls ready for the theatre. Could they be more different?


(Photo 13) The Palladium Theatre



(Photo 15) Sara Beth was enthralled with these star-shaped light nets attached to buildings and strung across the large avenue.


(Photo 16) Improvised gas mask of the moment!

Today was a travel day to the city of Windsor. The day was bright, clear, and very cold. We were to be at breakfast at 7:30 a.m. but an unexpected call from Gaiten at 6:30 a.m. threw a wrench in the day’s plan. Gaiten was feeling very ill this morning and did not know what to do. By her symptoms, we thought she might have sinus trouble and luckily there was a doctor on the tour that was available to the dancers so Sara Beth took her to see him. He verified that it was sinus trouble and thankfully not anything more serious and Gaiten decided that she should stay at the hotel, take the medicine he gave her and not go out in the cold air until she felt better. So, Hallie and Amy went on the tour to Windsor and Windsor castle without Gaiten and Sara Beth. It was sad leaving them behind, but we knew it was for the best. It was a beautiful day to travel and our guide was the same one that we had on our city tour. He talked all the way to Windsor, pointing out significant things in the city and beyond. I found him very interesting, but Hallie closed her eyes and slept all the way there. Windsor castle was bigger than Amy anticipated and more grand than Hallie had ever seen. It wasn’t as grand as the Palace of Versailles in France, but after all it is a castle. Hallie really enjoyed seeing Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House on exhibit. It was quite large with everything in it made to scale and operational. It had a tiny derringer that shot real bullets, lights that worked and hot and cold running water. The house was as big as a small room. It was behind glass and we could walk all around it to see all of the sides. Hallie was also very impressed by the Limoge porcelain dolls commissioned for King George VI’s daughters, the princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret rose. They were presented by the French government in 1938. They came with a complete wardrobe made by the leading Parisian Houses of the day. The clothes were exquisite! Hallie admired each and every piece with awe. We also saw a photo exhibit in honor of Prince Charles 60th birthday. I’m not sure that Hallie had ever paid attention to anything royal so this was very interesting to her. She decided that she definitely did not care for Camilla after learning of her relationship with Prince Charles and she wishes Harry would be king because he is the cutest! There was an exhibit of Royal China that we whizzed through pretty quickly and then a self guided tour of the castle staterooms. We ate lunch at McDonalds with our tour vouchers and we are happy to report that the McDonalds here is very similar to the one back home. Hallie and I went to a grocery store on the way back to the coach for some English cookies to share with our bunkmates . We arrived back to the hotel around 3:30p.m.and found Gaiten feeling much better and ready for our next adventure. The adults had a scheduled dinner at the Beefeater Medieval Buffet. Sara Beth and I went and wished we had not. Mr. Brian, it was Yuck!! Earlier, we had walked the girls to a Subway sandwich shop to make sure they knew the way back and we wished we had stayed with them. We had to rush through dinner to make it back to the motor coach because our next event was a trip to the Theatre. We saw The Sound of Music at the Palladium Theatre! We arrived a little late which was awful, but made it to our seats pretty easily. It was WONDERFUL! Sara Beth and I both cried, surprise, surprise! The girls really enjoyed it. Gaiten had never seen it before and Hallie had seen it but was just excited to see it in the theatre. As we were walking back to the coach, we were led by our guide into a narrow passage between a park and a food cart. We followed our guide despite our better instincts and smelled a telltale odor as soon as we stepped onto the coach. Apparently, the entire bus stepped in something that smelled very rank and pooish. Sara Beth and I spent the entire way back on the bus with our noses in her leather gloves, trying not to smell the lovely fragrance permeating the bus. On the way back to the hotel we traveled along the Thames River and were able to see the buildings lit up and the holiday lights still in place. Very Festive! Seeing Big Ben all lit up was a favorite. Once we arrived in our hotel, we verified that yes indeed, we had stepped in poo. Who’s or what’s we don’t know but it was still poo! All in all, it ended up as a great day.