Windsor & Eton

  

At the time of writing we are over the Ukraine & I'm enjoying breakfast & the company of Andre Rieu. Seat 77K in the upper deck has all the trimmings of premium economy - additional space & personal storage. With 4989 miles between us & Singapore we are scheduled to arrive in London in 2 hours & 54 minutes, but who's clock watching?

. . . . . Grey skies & just 7 degrees was a bracing welcome to London. The customary stamp in the passport cleared us through immigration. Customs was a mere nothing to declare! The Heathrow Express provided a rapid transit to Paddington Station & our 7:00 a.m. arrival at the Mecure Hotel, Paddington was 90 minutes after landing at Heathrow Airport! Impressive given the 3 hour Heathrow queues we had been hearing about.

As expected our request for an early check in was denied, so with bags stored, we hit the tourist trail running. Equipped with travel cards & London passes we retraced our earlier rail journey towards Windsor & Eton. A leisurely stroll through lanes & across the common that borders the schools & residences of Eton College was a serene introduction to the quaint village of Eton. Spiffingly enjoyable!

Neighbouring Windsor is celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Shop fronts displaying all things Royal & British and streets festooned with banners replicating the Union Jack, along with the anticipated June 21st celebrations, added to a festive atmoshere. With the aid of audio guides we enjoyed a comprehensive history lesson about Windsor Castle. St George's Hall was being prepared for tomorrow's 60th Jubilee luncheon for sovereigns of the world. A right royal occasion!

 

Our return to the Mecure Hotel, Paddington & a room allocation have us fronting Praed Street. Our room is clean & very, very compact. Measuring just 9.6 square metres, including the bathroom, it is smaller than the glass cabinet that houses Queen Mary's doll's house! Only the bed & television are standard size. All other furniture, including the bathroom fittings, have been scaled to suit the available space. Fronting Praed Street, we have free access to WIFI courtesy of Garfunkels, the downstairs restaurant. A bonus, and one we consider a fair trade to compensate for the lack of space.

Jet lagged, we have hung a Do Not Disturb on the door of room 214, we have secured the double glazed windows & drawn the heavy drapes to lock out London. Sleep will come easily.