What did I see off the veranda? The white cliffs of Dover and a tugboat. It was a very windy day and it took a while to get the ship attached to the pier. Some of us were getting off today, while others were sailing to Rotterdam and others were staying on for the next voyage, a trip to the fjords. I envied them. I wasn’t ready for this journey to end. I was having too much fun.
We were an hour late to disembark. We had good weather and we found our luggage easily, then rolled them to the nearby waiting bus. We found our small tour group, our bus driver and guide, and were off for our final excursion. I had been to Windsor once before, in the 80s, on a train trip from London, and found it to be a charming village. I wanted to see Queen Mary’s doll house and St George’s chapel.
The weather turned grey and it rained a bit but it cleared by the time we got to Windsor.I noticed that it was much more commercialized than I remembered.
The guide walked us to the visitor’s entrance, we got our red armband tickets, and were set to go.
It was possible to see the fire damage that the former Queen Elizabeth II described as her “annus horribibilis.” It took place on November 20, 1992 and it burned for 15 hours, destroying 115 rooms.
There was a long line to get into Queen Mary’s Dolls’ house but we persevered. Here’s a bit of history: it was built in the early 1920s, completed in 1924 as a gift for Queen Mary. It was designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens with contributions from many artists and craftsmen and includes a library of miniature books containing original stories written by authors including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and A.A. Milne. It showcased the finest and most modern goods of the era and was put on exhibition at the British Empire Exhibition 1924-1925 and the Ideal Home Exhibition in 1925. It was then placed at Windsor Castle in its own special room designed by the architect, where it stays today. It was made to a scale of 1:12 ( one inch to one foot) is over three fert tall and contains models of products of well- known companies of the time. It is really a sight to behold and well worth the effort to see it! Unfortunately we were unable to take pictures there and I tried downloading photos from the internet but they did not come through. You can google “Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House “ to find photos.
We managed to zip through the massive Royal Apartments, but again we were not allowed to take photos inside. We scampered down the hill to see St George’s Chapel, where many royals have been married, including Prince Harry and Megan Markel. If you saw the wedding on TV, as many of us did, you would have been impressed by the size of the chapel and its immense stained glass windows. The chapel has been the scene of weddings and burials. From Jane Seymore to Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth’s parents, George VI and his wife the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth II. We visited their tombs. It was a not-to-be-missed experience for us and we made time to see it.
We met up with our group two hours after our tour began. Plan to spend a day. We were dropped off at terminal 2 for our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn and we followed two other set of travelers who were staying there. We got to the reservation desk. We had no reservations. I showed them my confirmation information.
There are two Hilton Garden Inn Hotels at Heathrow Airport. We were standing inside the one that is actually INSIDE terminal 2. The other one is on a street outside the terminal. We begged for a room and got one, a family room with a king bed and a fold out double bed. After a bit of hassle, we were able to cancel the other resrr. We were lucky that we got to the hotel before the rush so there were rooms left.
I also had trouble getting our boarding passes so we walked over to the terminal for help. The clerk was not helpful so I tried downloading the photos again and it still didn’t work so we took a second trip, found a sympathetic agent, and got our boarding passes. It is incredibly easy to get to the terminal. Walk three minutes, take the elevator to the 5 th floor, and you are in United departures.
I took this picture as we retraced our steps back to the hotel.
We had a nice dinner and were offered a free continental breakfast the next morning. We opted to split an appetizer and a main course for dinner, which worked out well.
The feta and watermelon combination was delicious and the meat pie was also very tasty-+ just the right portions.
After breakfast the next day we went to the airport and once again opted for the wheelchair service, which got us to the gate right on time. It was our first time in business class and it was so nice to have the extra room. I couldn’t get my seat to recline all the way down, but I was able to get some sleep. The food was delicious except for an odd salad just before we landed. One of the flight attendants said we should have pre-ordered our meals because they ran out of some items. When we landed at SFO we also had wheelchair access and we ran into something unusual: a virtually empty airport, with no waiting at all at customs and immigration. Our bags were tagged with “preferred “ handling so they came out immediately and the wheelchair people waited with us for our ride. I have never had such a fast exit from the airport.
so now we are home. Beatrice is still with me because we will be going to Southet California to spend time in Los Angeles and San Diego and go on another cruise — more on that later!
When people ask what did I enjoy about the trip, it’s difficult to answer. I loved getting to know the city of Edinburgh during the craziness of the fringe fest. People were so much fun and welcoming. It was fun to see Ann and enjoy the Holyrood House intimate tour of the Royal Apartments and the Brittania tour. What a great experience! The ship was lovely and relaxing, with good food and great entertainment and we were able to catch snapshots of various parts of the UK. We proved that we could go for three weeks in spite of the surgeries and artificial limbs and not just survive but thrive!