Golden Jubilee London

Though many of the main Jubilee celebrations are finished, there are still events going on through the end of the year, including special exhibits and extended hours at various attractions. My favorite event this trip was a visit to Windsor Castle (my first), and knowing that perhaps I was walking in "royal footsteps".

Quick Tips:

My favorite London activities? Taking a walk along the Thames, having a pint with the locals in a neighborhood pub, visiting the British Museum, shopping at one of the local markets, visiting places like the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Before you go, check out www.visitlondon.com, the London Tourist Board website, to see what’s on during the time of your visit. You can search by event types, dates, venues, etc.

Best Way To Get Around:

Generally, the tube is an inexpensive and reasonably efficient way to navigate London. There are various visitor passes available; if you plan to use the tube frequently, you can save quite a bit by purchasing a pass. This trip I encountered numerous delays and closures on the weekend due to renovation of the underground system. Allow plenty of extra travel time, and if you're traveling just a short distance, consider walking.

I’d found this hotel through a London hotel booking agency and was pleased to find a hotel in London for under $100 (US) a night. The booking agency is Asatours Ltd, and I thought they offered a good variety of hotels at reasonable prices. I would highly recommend them and would not hesitate to use them again, though as a general rule I prefer to find my own lodgings.

The Ambassadors Hotel in Bloomsbury is located just minutes from Euston Station, which for my purposes was an excellent location. The lobby, meeting rooms and restaurant areas of the hotel are sparkling clean and modern looking. Unfortunately, the rooms themselves do not live up to the promise of the public areas.

My room had a double bed, bedside table, desk, chair, trouser press, coffee/tea making facilities, TV, and phone. It was simply furnished with floral patterned drapes and bedspread. The closet was decent size, and had a good number of hangers (something not always found in a lot of smaller hotels) as well as extra bedding. There was also space to store my luggage, which was good, as the room was quite small and there was nowhere else for it to go. The bathroom was clean, and nice thick towels were provided. The plumbing, however, was a bit lacking. I had to call the maintenance people up to fix my toilet, as it wasn’t flushing properly. They fixed it, but I started having problems with it the night before I was checking out.

Breakfast is served in the restaurant, and my room price included the Continental Breakfast rather than the English breakfast. The Continental Breakfast here is rolls, toast, croissants, cheese, fresh fruit, juices, and cold cereals, and it was quite good. For an extra charge, I could have had the English breakfast, but decided to stick with the Continental. My caffeine addiction was somewhat frustrated as the staff was not good about coming around to offer refills on coffee.

Up to this point I’d have offered a "Recommended" rating for the hotel, except an incident of pilferage from my room. As I habitually do, I had dumped all my coins on the desk in my room (probably about $6-7 US). When I returned from my day touring Windsor Castle, I went to get the coins, and they were gone. It also appeared as though other items on the desk had been moved around, and to a greater degree one would expect just from housekeeping. Luckily everything else of value I had was either with me or locked up. I’ve traveled all over and this was the first time I’d ever had problems with anything being taken from my room. I did report it, but the night manager didn’t seem overly concerned. I wasn’t concerned about the money so much as I was concerned about safe-guarding my valuables for the rest of my stay, which was luckily only another night.

This is a no-frills place that offers decent Cantonese-style cuisine at modest prices. The menu is quite extensive, and is available for take away as well as dining in. Three course set dinners are offered at about $12 (US). While the entrees offered with the set dinners are mostly noodle and rice dishes, there are quite a few to choose from, and these are accompanied by a choice of starters. The dining areas are small and plain, with just a few pieces of Chinese artwork on the walls.

On my visit I selected Spring Roll as my starter, followed by an entree of Shrimp with Green Peppers and Black Bean Sauce. The spring rolls were crisp and hot, and filled with ground meat and vegetables. I think the meat was beef, which is not my preference, but it was tasty nonetheless. The shrimp dish had large pieces of green pepper, onion, and a generous portion of shrimp. While I thought the dish could have used a little less salt, it was still good. Entrees are offered with either boiled or fried rice. With a pint or two, you can feel quite satisfied for a reasonable price.

I'd made arrangements to meet Steve, one of IGOUGO's London-based guides on Sunday evening. As much as I wanted to take Steve up on his offer to show me the fleshpots of London, I was tired from my day exploring Windsor Castle and so I opted for a chat over a few beers at a nearby pub. This cozy old pub is named for Lord John Russell, who built Russell Square, and who was also the first Master of the Horse at the Royal Mews. You can tell that this is definitely a "neighborhood pub", with its pictures of a local rugby team adorning the walls. As Steve told me, "you’re the only tourist in here".

There are picnic tables outside for warm summer evenings (we did sit outside a while before the it got too chilly). These need to be approached with caution, though, as they are quite wobbly. Of course Steve and I only found that out after we’d spilled some good beer! We didn’t fare much better inside...that table wobbled as well, though we’d apparently become more adept at steadying our pints! The pub offers a nice selection of ales and lagers, as well as hard cider, and is a great spot to see old friends and meet new ones.

I had visited the Royal Mews on my first trip to London in 1992; at that time it seemed as though no one had heard of it, and I had the place almost entirely to myself. Ten years later, the Golden Jubilee had brought many tourists, though I only had to wait in line a few minutes to get my ticket.

In the 13th century a Royal Mews was built at Charing Cross in London on a site where the National Gallery now stands. King George III needed space for his carriages and built the stables today seen behind Buckingham House. When George IV ascended the throne in 1820, he commissioned John Nash, his favorite architect, to remodel the house and rebuild the stables. It was discovered that there were problems with the building’s foundation. These difficulties, combined with Nash’s age and poor health, led to many difficulties and delays on the project. The Royal Mews was completed at last in 1825.

John Russell was the first Master of the Horse at the Royal Mews, which is an office of high honor. The horses have eight different sets of State Harnesses. The red Moroccan harness is used only with the Gold State Coach. The leather is all of the sets of harnesses is repaired as necessary, though the brassworks are original 19th century. When I visited, several of the horses were being ridden around the yard, apparently being trained for "royal duty". Other members of the Royal Family share the present Queen’s love of horsing pursuits. The Prince of Wales takes part in exhibition polo matches when possible and Anne, the Princess Royal, was a member of the British riding team sent to the 1976 Olympics.

The Royal Mews is home today to the Queen’s cars, coaches and horses. Most of the carriages in the Mews today were built during the reign of Queen Victoria. King Edward VII was the last monarch to commission a State carriage. This was the 1902 State Landau, which was used at the wedding of the Prince of Wales. The most magnificent of the coaches I viewed was the Gold State Coach. This coach has been used for every coronation since 1821.

On my first visit to the Mews, there was a display of family pictures, some of which showed various members of the Royal Family on horseback. It seemed on this visit that the entire exhibit was more polished and lacking some of the personal touches I remembered from before, though perhaps this is due to it being the Golden Jubilee.

Phone: (0)207-321-2233 Admission: About $8 (US)(Guidebook extra)

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.

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.