Windsor - Going to Visit the Queen

England is bloody freezing! I didn’t take a jacket with me so I’m going to have to buy one.

It’s strange being back after five years. I’d forgotten that there were so many old buildings and it all looked so pastoral. The birds gently twitter in the rain (of course it’s raining) unlike Sydney where the lorikeets kamikaze along in bright sunshine.

We’re staying with my sister and her fiance in Windsor. B picked us up from Heathrow in the morning and our plane was delayed by 2 hours in Singapore. Customs at Heathrow was a joke. There was nobody even on duty. That would definitely not happen in Australia where we are paranoid about someone bringing in a foreign banana.

As we were driving into Windsor, traffic was halted for a cavalcade of the Queen’s horses who trotted across the road in formation being led from one paddock up to the castle via the Long Walk. B said she had organised it just for us…

We had a quick nap and then a walk to the shops to find a jacket. The shopping journey was a fail because it’s all summer clothes over here and I was too jet lagged to go shopping properly.

We had a pint in a pub, the Two Brewers, next to Windsor castle then went for a walk down the Long Walk. We turned in at 8:30pm and woke up at 4:30am, so had a solid 8 hours sleep. I feel like we’re conquering the jet lag… A bit.

On Sunday B and I rushed out to buy a Barbour jacket - against the Bloke's wishes who think Barbour jackets are snobby. I didn't care. All the other shops were selling summer clothes and I needed a good quality, warm jacket. B put in some money for it as my birthday present which justified the expense... somewhat.

We then walked to a restaurant for lunch with some friends we haven't seen in years. We all came back to B and G’s for coffee and cake afterwards. We then went back to the Two Brewers next to the castle. The Two Brewers is very old and more local pub than some of the others. It's amazing how with good friends, you can just pick up from where you left off.