Sunday, February 21, 2010

Widnsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford

We had an great day visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Oxford. I'm sure everyone was thrilled when they saw our two small children loading the tour buss.

There was a bit of a mix up at the bus station which put us on the road about 30 minutes later then scheduled. We were a little rushed through Windsor Castle and could of had some more time to walk around the grounds.

We visited the Queen Mary's Doll House and the State Apartments. The Doll House was any little girl's dream! It has working electricity, plumbing and the little vacuum even works. It really was quite spectacular. It was killing Eleanor that she couldn't play with it.

The days leading to our visit to the castle, Eleanor had been asking if she could wear her princess dress to the castle and if she could live there. Well, right after the Doll House she was pretty persistent about putting her princess dress on. We tried talking her into putting it on over her clothes (keep in mind that it's not particularly warm inside the castle) but she would not have it!! So, in the middle of one of the State Apartments John took off all of Eleanor's clothes and put her princess dress on.

So, we thought she would be happy with her princess dress on, but she wasn't! She now wanted her princess shoes. We tried explaining to her that we did not have them and that she had to wear the new tennis shoes Mimi brought her. She was ticked!! She kept saying that she hated her shoes and that they were not princess shoes. When ever someone made mention of her pretty princess dress she was quick to respond back with, "but my shoes aren't princess shoes and they are dumb!". To say she was in a foul mood would be a slight understatement! I finally started threatening her that the guards were looking for notty children to take away. It helped for about 2 minutes. Needless to say I did not get to enjoy too much of the castle!

By the time we got out of the castle and back onto the buss Eleanor had snapped out of her foul mood and was saying some pretty cute things about the castle and the Queen. She couldn't understand why we couldn't see the Queen or any princesses. She asked us where the Queen was and we told her she was sleeping. She then said, "I know, let's take her a birthday cake and tell her to wake up. I know she'll want to play with me then".

While leaving Windsor we got to see Prince Henry and his entourage ridding horses. He was right off the side of the street. Very cool!!

Stonehenge was our second stop and it was freezing cold!! Luckily it was just a short walk around the stones. Little Amelia did not want her face covered under the blanket! She was enjoying being outside and loved the cold air on her little face. Eleanor wouldn't take off her princess dress so she was all bundled up in the stroller with a blanket around her face.

Right after we left Stonehenge Eleanor told John and I that her throat didn't feel good. John suspected that she was car sick and I thought she just might be getting a sore throat. Well, about 15 minutes later she was throwing up all over her princess dress and into my hands. Poor little girl! She was really good, the girls in front of us didn't even know she had thrown up (other then the smell of course). It's a good thing we had her clothes to change her into.

Oxford was our last stop of the day and it was amazing. All the old buildings were beautiful and it was fun seeing all the thousands of bikes! I told John I want to take our kids back when they are freshmen in high school to give them some major motivation for good grades! Our tour guide took us on a short walking tour and pointed out some interesting things. He told us the story of JK Rowling not knowing what the shape of Harry Potters scare was going to be until she stepped on a stone with the mark on it.

We didn't get back to London until 6pm and we were all pretty exhausted! The tour guide gave an announcement on how well behaved the little girls were and thanked them!

For dinner we tried finding a place for Fish and Chips but were unsuccessful. She ended up eating at Nando's, a Portuguese restaurant and it was delicious! So far, we have had the best food! Everything is great and the deserts are amazing!






















4 comments:

Aubrey Reese said...

Wow Jules! What an amazing experience for you and your family. I want to come! That's so neat your parents came too. Your children are absolutely beautiful. Miss you. Love, Aubs

Amanda said...

I loved reading about her princess dress and shoes! That is a typical three year old. How could you not bring her pretty shoes? I love smiley Amelia. It looks like you guys are having a blast! I am so happy you get to live in London!

Stephanie said...

Tell your mom and dad I say hi. It's so fun to see you on all of your adventures. I can't wait to hear what you've been up to lately!

Stacy said...

Hey Julie! I forgot your blog was private and doesn't show up on my reader... it was fun to catch up on all your going ons! Looks like you are having such a good time. Keep posting!