The simple fact is that when I look through my pictures, I get all excited, and love each one. I can't possibly choose when I'm in that state of mind. So, this is my pared-down, abbreviated look at our first day in England.Here's Ev getting ready to drive on the left side for the first time...he looks a little nervous, doesn't he? Actually he did really well, although I never quite got used to it. I kept thinking that he was turning into oncoming traffic! Of course, he wasn't, so it was a good thing that he did all the driving. We were, however, soooo glad that at the last minute we asked for a navigation system!
Windsor Castle was not at all what I expected. Mostly because it is now sitting in the middle of a little town. That alone creates a really unique- and sometimes stark- juxtaposition of the new and old. It was amazing to walk through and think about the fact that people still live here. In fact, the Queen's standard was flying the day that we visited. I suppose she is used to it, but it would seem so strange to me to have hundreds of strangers walking through my house. I loved checking out all the details- like little crowns decorating everything that would stand still, from light posts to mailboxes. It's one of those things that is normal to people in the UK, but such a novelty to us!
We spent some time walking around the cities of Windsor and Eton and along the Thames. We watched the swans along the Thames, which are all owned by the Queen. We had our first English meal- Ev chose fish & chips with mashy peas and I tried some steak and kidney pie with mash and gravy. I thought everything was tasty- though Ev said the coffee was not up to par. Go figure.
We left Windsor and headed into Warminster for our first night. The countryside was absolutely gorgeous- rolling hills, grassy fields and pastures. One of our B&B hosts said these yellow flowering fields were growing a crop that is actually used for animal feed once it goes to seed. We waved at Stonehenge as we drove past, and flew down tiny country lanes at breakneck speeds- usually we were still below the speed limit! We ended our day at this gorgeous little B&B named Crockerton House. It used to be part of a large country estate named Longleat, and dates from 1669. The owners are gracious hosts and have done a beautiful job of restoring it into a very comfortable B&B, along with planting some wonderful gardens, which we could see from our bedroom window. For dinner, we walked to the local pub and had a great time with very friendly locals and good food!
