At 33,000 feet,  London Gatwick looks pretty much as it does from 1000ft.  Non existent.  At least today. it is socked in and raining. I am looking out the window at the end of the wing, I can't see anything else due to the cloud cover. All of a sudden its green and then, we hit. Great landing only bounced twice.  We have been in the desert to long. I am excited by the green landscapes and the rain.   We got lucky on the flight, Johanne had four seats and I had three, so we were able to sleep.  Overnight flights have their advantages.  Emirates is a nice airline, larger seats than usual and really good in flight entertainment.

We sailed through customs and proceeded to the rental car desk. Things went down hill at this point.  The car we rented many months ago was not as advertised.  We booked a 4 door station wagon and received  Fiat 500. Not going to work!  After much back and forth, a call to reservations, more discussion Hertz was not going to budge. Neither were we..... Have a back up plan.  Johanne, being forever prepared,  had booked a second car, just in case.  We played one against the other and ended up with a car that should work.  Fingers crossed.

Now the hard part.....strange city, steering wheel on the wrong side, cars on the wrong side, no map, raining and a bit put off by the rental experience.  This has all the ingredients for a blow up.  Nothing happens. Well, almost nothing.  I miss the first turn, staying on the Canadian side of the road in the parking garage, for which, the guy behind me is blowing a gasket.  We salute each other using universal hand signals  and eventually all is good in the world. We are still laughing at the level of excitement presented by our British cousin in the rental car behind us, as we make our way to the M5 north to London.  Windsor castle here we come.

Windsor Castle is the largest and oldest occupied fortress in the world.  The original castle was built in the 11th century by William the Conqueror after the Norman invasions.  It has been connected to British royalty since the time of Henry I.  The early 19th century staterooms are considered the finest architectural examples of the Georgian style in the world.




No pictures can be taken in the Staterooms, the Queen's summer residence, however, I did manage to sneak a few in, at great personal risk, I might add.  These were taken without the ability to aim at the subject, holding the camera at my waist, and coughing as I push the shutter, to hide the sound. Bond, James Bond, I am thinking as I snap off a few quick ones.  Quality is not great but I think you get the idea.  Luxurious!

 Changing of the guard.

 This house is in the middle of the town! Of Windsor.  It is called the Crooked House. I liked it, I hope you do.

Just around the corner from Windsor castle is Eton and the college by the same name.  The Thames river separates the two towns.  Eton college is very proper, as the Brits say, no less than 19 former prime ministers were schooled here, including David Cameron, the current Prime minister.  The who's who of Royalty have been through these hallowed halls.

 The students of Eton college dress in formal garb, tailcoats, waistcoats, false collar and pinstriped pants.  We caught to boys heading back to class. The main campus is below.

After leaving Windsor, we are headed to our own castle. Beaumont Estates, for our first night in the empire.  Looks like the whitehouse. Tomorrow we are heading onto Wales for a few days.

Be well

Cheers