DAY 124: Windsor Castle

Today was Christmas Eve! We got up early and headed out of London on the train to go see Windsor Castle.

FUN FACT #81: Windsor Castle was first built after the Norman Invasion of William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Since then, it has been used by the monarchs of England and is the longest standing royal residence in Europe.


It was about an hour train ride to the county of Berkshire. There is a cute town right outside its walls which was walked around in until we found the ticket counter. As usual, we were given audio guides to learn more about the palace as we walked around.

FUN FACT #82: When the British Flag is waving from the round tower, it means that the castle is being used by the royal family. The castle is the preferred weekend home of Queen Elizabeth II.

St. George's Hall after the Fire of '92

I won't go into too much detail because there was quite a bit to learn about while we were here. What was very interesting was that Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were kept here during World War II. Their parents traveled to Buckingham Palace for the days and returned at night to the castle. The castle had most of its precious art removed and its chandeliers lowered to the floor in case of a bombing.

The castle was fascinating as it moved you through British history. Its great display of art was really incredible. My favorite room was the St. George's Hall which commemorated the Knights of the Garter. Every knight's shield was mounted on the ceiling overhead.

St. George's Hall restored

FUN FAT #83: The Knights of the Garter is the third most prestigious award given out by the English Crown after the Victoria Cross and George Cross.

Unfortunately, there was a huge fire in 1992 that destroyed quite a bit of the castle, including this Hall. It was rebuilt, of course, but I'm sure it must of have been much more beautiful before.

Gotta love Audio Guides

Joe, Me, and Lizzy

We spent most of the day at Windsor Castle as it was so huge there was so much to see! We got to take our pictures with the royal guards out front which of course was very fun. After walking around the town of Windsor a bit, we returned on the Train to London to go out for Christmas Eve dinner.

My family has a tradition of eating my mother's famous lasagna for our Christmas Eve dinner, after which we decorate sugar cookies. We knew we wouldn't be able to celebrate the same way as we do at home, but we decided that we could at least go get Italian food for dinner to keep the tradition going. So I reserved us a table at this fancy Italian place. We had a remarkable dinner. Although they only gave me like 4 pieces of tortellini, those 4 pieces did taste amazing!