Windsor Saturday 13th November 2010

Woke up at 630am to catch an early train to Windsor& Eton riverside station. The weather was amazing with no rain at all throughout the day! Tried to get concession fee for entrance to Windsor Castle when buying train ticket as advertised on national rail website. Somehow I felt so cheated when the Redhill rail staff said there is no such service here. Totally opposite of what was being said in the website. I could have bought the train ticket and plus bus ticket online but instead, I bought the train ticket at the counter to get Windsor Castle concession fee. Without plus bus ticket, ended up paying extra GBP 1.40 for return bus ticket from the hospital to Redhill town. Sigh, public transport is UK is so expensive...

Arrived early in Windsor. Outside the Windsor castle is King George V memorial. A short uphill walk around the castle brought me to the entrance gate. Even in winter, there were loads of visitor. Tour groups from France, Japanese, Chinese etc. There was already a queue outside before the opening time at 945am. Buying the admission ticket just took less than 10minutes though as the group tours enter from a different door.

The audio guide is included into the GBP 16 fee and it is really informative and easy to follow. Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and the Official Residence of Her Majesty The Queen. Its rich history spans almost 1000 years. It took me 3 hours plus to finish the tour but I missed the exhibition in the Drawing Gallery and Winchester Tower. I also forgot to get my ticket stamped to enable me to get free annual pass :(

                                                      The Round Tower, Windsor Castle

St George's Chapel

The State Apartment

Past the entrance, there is St George's Gate with State Apartments beyond it. Then while walking towards the Round Tower, one would pass by the battlement wall with small windows to shoot arrows. The Round Tower was used as fortress during war and is surrounded by a moat. Now the moat is a beautiful garden with small waterfall. Next is St. George's Chapel. St George is the patron saint for the order of Knights of Garter. The chapel has very impressive Gaelic architecture. The buttresses on the outside were built to support the high ceiling and arches inside the chapel. The chapel is the burial place of 10 England monarchs including King George VI ( Queen's father ), Queen Elizabeth  (The Queen Mother), King Henry VIII and Princess Margaret. One of the most beautiful marble carving is the one of Princess Charlotte's tomb. She passed away at age 21 from childbirth and the carving depicted her covered corpse and shrouded figures mourning at her deathbed. The carvings above it shows her ascending to heaven with angel holding her stillborn baby. The ceilings are magnificent and there many half body angels with wings holding musical scroll decorating the arches. At the altar, there is a special window built for Catherine, King Henry VIII's wife  to view the service from above. The altar is decorated with gold- coloured carvings and paintings. At the choir, there are flags of all order of knights being hung above. 

The next visit is to Queen Mary's Doll House. The doll house, completed in 1924 is a childhood dream comes alive. It was built for Queen Mary, King George V's wife with great detail and fine craftsmanship. The House has electricity, fully plumbed with flushable toilet and even has a mini vacuum cleaner. There is real wine in wine bottle in the wine cellar and the rooms have mini paintings on the wall. One can see the Queen's bedroom, bathroom, study, wardrobe, King's bedroom and bathroom, dining room, kitchen with china, cutlery and working coffee mill, maid's room, man's room, strong room for crown jewel and silvers. The 2 famous dolls France and Marianne, belong to Princess Elizabeth ( now The Queen)  and Princess Margaret are also at display with clothes, bags and shoes made by famous Parisian designer. Yup, jewellery by Cartier too. The dolls were gifts to the princesses during 1934 State Visit to Paris by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother). 

The State Apartment has many lavishly decorated rooms with wonderful paintings. The rooms were created for Charles II and Catherine of Braganza in1675-1678. St George's Hall is one massive hall where there is long table laid for 160 guests during State Banquet and it also holds service for the Order of Garter in June yearly. Other rooms are Waterloo Chamber, King's Drawing Room, King's Bedchamber, King's Dressing Room with Breughel's Massacre of Innocents painting, King's Dining Room, Queen's Drawing Room, Queen's Ballroom with famous drawing of King Charles I (beheaded)'s five children, Garter Throne room and The Lantern Lobby which houses silver collection and suit of armour belongs to King Henry VIII. The fire in 1992 is believed to start in the Lantern Lobby.

Beyond this is the Semi-State Rooms which were badly damaged during the fire. It was originally built for King George IV and designed to suit his taste. Now, it is fully refurbished and repaired.

 Sadly, no photography is permitted inside the cathedral, the Queen Mary's Doll House, the State Apartments and Semi state rooms. I wished I did not have to rush but since I have bought Legoland ticket online, I really need to move on as during winter, places close as early as 4pm.

Boarded a Legoland shuttle in front of the Theatre Royal. Again, is not cheap. A return bus ride which is just 15min one way cost GBP4.40. Legoland has quite a huge crowd. I can only imagine the crowd would have double or tripled during summer. The only reason I wanted to visit this place is for its Miniland. It does not disappoint. The Lego miniatures cover famous buildings and sites in London, Brighton, Scotland, France, Belgium, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, USA etc. Thank God it did not rain that day. The rides are quite kiddy and to line up for the ride it takes 15-30min which is quite a pain. To beat the queue, one has to buy Q-Bot which is not cheap but worthwhile if you bring your kids along. For the adults, any rides that are close to exciting are located in the Land of Vikings, Knights Kingdom and Pirates Landing. In the Kingdom of Pharoahs, I tried Laser Raider which is really a stupid choice. I lined up for 30min or more and I had no time for Viking rides at the end. But then, there was ot much time to begin with after I finished with Miniland. For those that pay GBP35 admission fee, a day in Legoland is a must to make full use of its value. But since I paid GBP15 via online purchase, I did not feel the pinch too much. On certain days, there is firework too but not yesterday. This weekend is the last opening before it closes during winter hence the discounted ticket.

Waited for shuttle bus outside the Legoland entrance to get back to town. In town, spotted Kitchen Fudge shop and bought strawberry fudge. Then, bought 2 more packets of fudge in Mr. Simms shop in Windsor shopping center. Finished 1 packet of fudge yesterday (was my dinner) and the rest of the fudge today (breakfast and lunch). Really hope I do not become diabetic. Really consumed too much sweet stuff lately. 

Spent the whole day watching Hana Yori Dango Returns(Japanese version) with Italian subtitle while blogging about Canterbury and Windsor trips. It is really stupid but I could not find the ones with English subtitles. It did not matter much since I do know the storyline anyway...

Time to cook...tomyam fish and kailan for tonight. Needing a spicy and salty dish to offset the sugar overconsumption in the day :)

Canterbury Sun 31st October 2010

Procrastinated long to write this post. I was actually somehow disappointed with Canterbury . Maybe because everyone says how great is this place, my expectation was too high to begin with.

It rained from morning till evening on that day. Canterbury is located quite far east of Kent county. The rain and gray sky did not dampen my spirit. Travelled from Dartford with first available train. Had lovely egg omelette as breakfast before leaving thanks to Jon.

Just outside the train station is the medieval wall of Canterbury. It is a lovely view from the bridge that connects the station to the city. Beyond the wall is the historic Dane John Garden that dates back to 1551. Even in the dense rain, I quite enjoyed this garden. Lined with tress along the pathyway and a fountain in the middle, it is attractive in its own way. One can cut through the park to reach the heart of Canterbury, with its bustling streets and shopping centres. I got a bit lost within the shopping areas and took a while before I found the Canterbury Tales. Made a mistake here. The only reason I visited it before the Cathedral is because I assumed the Cathedral is only open at 12 on Sunday( tour is open at 12 but visitors can enter before 12). Had I visit the Cathedral first I would have 50% off the Canterbury Tales admission fee or got GBP5 off the fee using the coupon from Tourist office right opposite the Cathedral.

                                                 The entrance to Canterbury Cathedral

                                                       Streched my neck to gaze at this beauty

Gothic style cathedral just like the St George's chapel in Windsor Castle

The Canterbury Tales is quite fun in its own right but the admission fees is too high, GBP 7.95. Inside, audio guide is provided and visitors are guided from one tale to another. My favourite story is the one by Wife from Bath. Other stories are Knight's Tale, Miller's Tale, The Nun's Priest's Tale, and Pardoner's Tale. The stories were told by a group of pilgrims that were making their way to Canterbury to pay respect to St Thomas.

During winter months, Sunday is not a good day to visit. All the museums are closed hence there is really no point buying Canterbury pass. I wandered around the town to look for an open museum. Found Greyfriar's garden instead. A visit to the tourist center confirmed that none is open.

The next stop is the reason why everyone visits Canterbury. The entrance arch to the Cathedral is imposing. I stood back at the tourist office to take in the view. The medieval arch is like a starter to a main meal. Beyond the arch is a path that leads to the majestic cathedral. It is founded in 602AD by St Augustine, its first Archbishop. The gothic style architecture is apparent from the outside. The roof and ceiling are amazing. Really craned my neck gazing at the impressive arch and roof work. The cathedral had a bloody history. It is where St. Thomas was murdered by followers of King Henry II who was used to be a close friend to the archbishop. The Corona keeps a piece of relic from the crown of St Thomas which was struck off during the murder. The 12th century choir and high altar are quite a sight to behold too. Beyond it was where the shrine of St Thomas used to be. It has relocated in 1220 to Trinity Chapel. The stained glass windows are beautiful. Becket's miracle window is just one of them. Edward, the Black Prince, King Henry IV and his wife Joan of Navarre were buried here.

Outside the cathedral, it is worth to saunter around its vicinity. The Norman staircase was built in 1153 and it led up to Poor Pilgrims's Hall where the poor could stay for 3 nights free. It is now part of King's School. While climbing the staircase, I could not help wondering how it feels when the poor found this place of rest in the past.

After leaving the Cathedral, I walked around the city to St. Augustine Abbey , which was a monastery found in 598AD  by St Augustine and later became part of a palace. Now it is mainly ruins. I was reluctant to pay to see ruins and walked on to St. Martin's Church.

St Martin's church is the oldest functioning parish church in England. It was built in 597AD, a gift from King Ethelbert of Kent to his christian wife, Bertha. King Ethelbert was a pagan king. 

It is a small and humble looking church. From the outside, no one would have guessed how important this church is. It marks the start of christianity in Kent. In 597 AD, Pope Gregory sent Augustine on a christian mission to Kent and the rest is history.

Behind and on the hill behind the church is a lovely garden which I stumbled across by chance.

While walking back to the town, I passed by The Kings School, which was originally a medieval cathedral school. It is in fact the oldest extant school in the world, being first founded in 597AD by St Augustine. However, it is now a private school. Opposite the school is Lady Wotton's Green which has 2 statues of King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha.

Since the museums are not open, I left early after shopping for groceries in Tesco. Looking back I really should have shopped for boots here. Sigh...

Cheesy adventure

For the love of cheese, my greedy self managed to finish a 200g pack of cheese in 2 days! I am just so so so hungry nowadays and it correlates inversely with the ambient temperature. Weather forecast predicted temperature in Redhill to dip to low 1* C and I find myself thinking about food frequently at workplace. A friend suggested since I love cheese so much, might as write about it...


I have eaten white stilton with blueberries before and it tastes real good. So I tried british white stilton with apricots last week. It tastes ok but I prefer the former though and I wish the cheese taste is stronger and creamier. This week, I tried to be adventurous and tried Yorkshire Wensleydale with cranberries. It did not disappoint me. It has a mixture of sweet dried cranberries and sharp taste of cheese. I ate it with crackers, with oats or just by itself. The cheese became smaller and smaller and disappeared in no time :) 25 g of fat per day is a big number but I cannot think when I am hungry...

Rochester Sat 30/10/2010

It was a glorious sunny day in the beginning. Set my alarm at 730am but I overslept because I watched a Korean movie Changing Partners overnight and only slept at 4am after finish planning my Canterbury trip. So woke up at 930am instead! I panicked and got prepared in superhuman speed. Instead of cycling, I got into a bus. When I reached the town, it started raining...The weather is really unpredictable! I rushed to post office to collect my parcel. It was delivered to my home when I was dead asleep post night shift hence did not hear the doorbell rang. So I had to collect it at the office instead. It was my new crumpler Pretty Boy 5500 bag! Bought in ebay and really pleased with its quality. Not ciplak but original! It can fit my camera, a 500ml bottle, biscuit and umbrella (necessities for travelling). It also has a front pocket that can fit a wallet, handphone, passport and small notepad. The only thing is after a day of carrying it around, my shoulder became quite sore due to the weight :(

Got into a train to Dartford to meet Sherryne. I had not seen her for good 6 years I think. She looks exactly the same, as lovely as usual :) Train ride to Dartford was just about 1.5hr with 2 changes. Sherryne drove to Rochester and we reached there in less than 30minutes. Rochester is a lovely town. It is a town where Charles Dickens used to spend his childhood. It started to drizzle when we arrived but it lasted less than 10minutes and Miss Sunshine was out again after that. The weather was great for the rest of the day. We went to a pub to grab some lunch first before sightseeing.

The Rochester Castle is one of the best preserved Norman castle around. It was built initially in 1078AD. Much has been damaged in previous sieges. It has 3 square towers and one round tower. It is cold and breezy inside the castle and the view from the top is like sweet dessert after a main meal :) One get to see the beautiful expanse of Medway River, rows of yachts and the Rochester Cathedral. Entrance fee is £5. Audio guide has additional charge.

As we walked around town, we found The Six Poor Travellers House. It is a Tudor charity house founded in 1579. In the olden days, it provided free lodging for poor travellers and later used to treat soldiers during war. At present, it is a well maintained and charming house with a lovely herb garden at the backyard. Each bedroom has an ancient fireplace and a simple bed. There is no entrance fees!The Rochester Cathedral is the second oldest cathderal. It was first founded in 604AD but present nave was built in 1083 under Bishop Gundulf. The King's School was first built in 604AD and is part of Rochester Cathedral hence is the second oldest school in UK. The cathedral is certainly not as massive as the Canterbury Cathedral yet is beautiful in its own way. I love the crypt and  the Chapter Library Door.

Lastly, we went to The Guildhall Museum. The Rochester Guildhall was built in 1687 and  now is a museum. We like the Hulk, which is a depiction of what a hulk would look like in the olden days. Hulk is old or damaged ship that has been stripped of its masts and used as prison.

That end our journey in Rochester. We went back to Sherryne's comfy home in Dartford. Met up with Jon, Sherryne's hubby, a  bubbly and friendly chap. Had a great dinner in a nearby Indian restaurant after shopping in Asda. Then while watching Xfactor, had huge helping of raspberry pavlova. What a perfect day!  :D