Windsor Castle is the largest castle still in operation in the world. The Queen of England lives here most weekends, and I understand that she prefers this to Buckingham Palace in London proper, which she considers to function more as an office than a home.

One English friend said, "You want to see a castle? Go to Windsor. That's a castle."

On that advice, we paid the £14.20 per adult ticket and the £8 per child ticket to tour the place. If you live in England, make sure you get your ticket stamped to allow you entry into the castle for a full year. Different parts of the castle open in different seasons. For instance, the Semi-State Rooms were closed in the summer 2007 but are re-opened in the autumn.

So what is the castle like inside? This is certainly a large complex. The architecture reminds me strongly of the Tower of London, which makes sense as the buildings were originally constructed around the same time. Windsor has expanded over the years, but architects have been faithful to the original design.

An audio wand tour that comes with your ticket talks about the history of the castle. In the summer season, you can also join a free guide at certain times of the day. I like live tours, so this is what we did. Our live guide was an Italian, but she obviously loved England. She ushered our group quickly around the outer grounds, pointing out when different buildings had been erected. Apparently Windsor was built with defense in mind. However, it hasn't had to withstand attack often. The most significant sieges were during the reign of John of Magna Carta fame. Later, Elizabeth I spent a good deal of time here because she felt safe within the thick walls.

After the live tour, we stood in line to go into the State Apartments and to see Queen Victoria's dollhouse. A girl at heart, I loved looking at the masterfully crafted miniatures and the small doll outfits on display that were gifts to the current queen and her sister when they were still children.

My husband liked the Great Hall the best. The heraldic shields of many knights are on the ceiling. You'll see some of the shields are "empty." These belonged to knights who brought shame on their families and lost favor with the monarch.

The one thing that I have to go BACK to visit is St. George's Chapel where Henry VIII is buried. Keep in mind, due to religious services, it's closed on Sundays.

How do you get to the castle? Windsor is not difficult to reach by train from London, and the train station is within easy walking distance of the castle. If you are driving a car, you'll see exit signs on the M4. There are a couple of different pay-lots near the castle that you may use.

Castle hours: Opens 9:45am daily with last admission at 4pm.

Windsor Castle is only 20 miles outside of London, not far from Heathrow Airport. It can be reached by train, bus, or car, or you could join a tour. As the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and the primary residence of the current queen, it is definitely worth a visit.

The castle is very visitor friendly; there is a good historical overview in the first building you enter. You may purchase an official souvenir guidebook or rent an audio guide at the start of your visit for a self-guided tour. In addition, there are 30-minute guided tours available for free.

Things to see in the castle include the lavish staterooms, the gallery featuring the royal art collection, and Queen Mary’s Dollhouse (which I didn’t see). Downhill from the castle is St. George’s Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel. We got to see the changing of the guard as well. Outside the castle walls, the city of Windsor abounds in shops and restaurants, etc., which visitor might enjoy.

Windsor also has a changing of the guard – but that happens inside the castle walls. People line up on the streets outside to see the brightly dressed soldiers marching through at around 10am. If you are there at the time, get your ticket before you stand to watch, or better yet, get your tickets and go inside to see the changing. Once the soldiers march past, there is a mad rush to Q-up for the tickets. Here there are no guided tours but instead clearly marked paths to wander around. Sections of the palace are not open to the public.

There are various staterooms, and the exhibits in them are staggering – armor, weapons, and clothing from all over the world made of gold and silver and studded with precious stones. The state apartments and doll house are other tourist attractions, as well as the St. George's Chapel, with its amazing stained-glass windows.

Once outside the castle, have lunch in one of the restaurants on the picturesque Thames. After lunch, walk across the bridge for a stroll in the village of Eton. There, even on holidays, you will see high school kids in uniform - pin-striped trousers with a black tailcoat and waistcoat.

The next room I visited was the King’s Drawing Room, beautifully done with gold fabric on the walls. Even over the shuffle of tourists’ feet, it’s possible to hear a clock gently chiming the hour. The King’s Bed Chamber has a gold-canopied bed, with red fabric-covered walls. A door leads to the King’s Dressing Room. I was a little surprised, as I didn’t see any closets...until I walked to the next room, said to be the King’s Closet. To me, it looked more like a sitting room, probably about 20 x 18 feet, with a lovely marble fireplace.

The Queen’s Ballroom was rather narrow and long, and was one of my favorite rooms. Walls are teal and gold fabric with the ceiling painted white and embellished with gold. Three ornate chandeliers brilliantly light the room. Chairs and ottomans are covered in a pale gold fabric with a delicate design of pink roses and green leaves. Next was the Queen’s Audience Chamber, which has elaborate tapestries on the walls, and large Chinese porcelain vases on the tables and floor on either side of the fireplace.

In the Queen’s Guard Chamber rests an ornate throne of intricately carved ivory. I was told that this was given to Queen Victoria when she was Empress of India, though there seems to be doubt she ever sat upon it. Next I entered St. George’s Hall. The walls and ceiling are covered with coats of arms; the ceiling and doors are beautifully carved wood. There are ledges on the walls where statues of knights in armor are displayed. The words, "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense" appear many times in this room. This is the motto of the Order of the Garter, created in 1348. Roughly translated, it means, "Evil be to him who thinks evil."

Next, I walked on to the Grand Reception Room, which has soft cream walls with elaborate carvings done in gold. Large tapestries in predominantly blue tones adorn the walls, while the chairs are covered in a floral pattern of cream, blue and green. Chairs and tables are gilt. A large window, running almost floor to ceiling, looks out over the town of Windsor.

The final room I visited was the Garter Throne Room. This is an exquisite room with blue carpet and gilt chairs with blue velvet upholstery. A marble fireplace stands at one end, over which is a portrait of a youthful Queen Elizabeth. Throughout my visit, I noticed that the guards in the rooms were happy to answer questions, and all seemed to have interesting bits of history to share, making the rooms come alive.

There are several gift shops on the premises, though no refreshment facilities exist within the Castle grounds. However, the town of Windsor offers many dining options. Visitors may exit and re-enter the Castle grounds; passes are provided at the Ward shops. No photography is allowed inside the Castle, though it is possible to take photographs outside.

Travel by rail from Paddington Station is about $9 (US) roundtrip. The trip from Paddington to Slough (where you change trains to Windsor) took about 40 minutes. At Slough I followed the crowds, figuring (correctly, as it turned out) that I’d probably end up on the train for Windsor.

Windsor Castle is one of the Queen’s official residences, and has been inhabited for over 900 years. Just past St. George’s gate there is a pictorial history of the Castle and its construction. One of the most interesting parts was the display showing the reconstruction of Windsor Castle after the fire in November 1992. The fire began in the Lantern Gallery of the Castle. Windsor Castle’s restoration was completed exactly five years later on November 20, 1997, the 50th wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. There are numerous pictures presented showing the Queen and other members of the Royal Family at various public events. My particular favorite was a picture of actor Sean Connery being knighted by the Queen at a ceremony held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in July 2000.

I’d specifically gone to Windsor to see the special Jubilee photography exhibit, "Queen and Camera: A Golden Jubilee Celebration in Photograhs". This exhibit ranges from portraits and family groups, as well as press and documentary images from the past 50 years of the Queen’s reign. Many of these photographs have not been displayed publicly before. They are from the Royal Photograph Collection, which is housed at Windsor Castle. The picture most meaningful to me was one of Queen Elizabeth with Haile Selasie, former Emperor of Ethiopia, as my great-aunt, from whom I get my middle name, once had a private audience with Haile Selasie.

Photographer John Swanell, when photographing the Queen for some Jubilee photographs, said that he had "worked out that over the 50 years she has been on the throne, Her Majesty has probably had her photograph taken more than 40 million times, if one includes family portraits and all the press photographs taken at her official engagements, not to mention the numerous pictures by members of the public and tourists!" I suspect this would make her perhaps the most photographed personage on the planet.

After viewing the exhibit, I toured the State Apartments. Past the China Museum, I ascended the Grand Staircase, flanked on each side by a statue of a knight in armor mounted on a black horse. At the top of the staircase, there is a room with guns and swords displayed in cases and on the walls clear to the ceiling. Against one wall there is also a breathe-taking marble statue of Queen Victoria with a dog at her feet. It looks so life-like I expected the dog to jump up and lick my hand. Next I continued to the Waterloo Chamber, with tones of predominantly red and gold. A long table (I counted 56 chairs) is placed in the center of the room.