First Weekend in London -- Windsor Castle and Indian Festival

Yesterday I went to Windsor Castle, which was a BU Social Programme Event. We took a bus from our campus to the castle, and our tour guide informed us that we would see a few cool sites on the bus ride.


This is where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. I was so excited to see this place! It's basically where the seeds of non-royal government (including democracy) began. My picture is blurry because we were on a bus, but Diana got a really good shot that I might later steal.

From the white building downward is a part of land owned by the US. Apparently, JFK signed a deal with the British prime minister and the US got part of this land to seal the deal.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside Windsor Castle (unfortunately). The inside was gorgeous and ornate. And Queen Mary had this huge dollhouse that was a gift from her people. It was very detailed -- it had electricity and you could even start the cars with tweezers. Inside, we also saw a portrait gallery, a dining room, a sitting room, a bedroom, and several other rooms. Anyway, here are the pictures I could take.

Me and Diana in front of Windsor Castle

Statue of King Charles (I?)

We also went inside St. George's Chapel, which was also gorgeous and ornate. The chapel had a room dedicated to knights with knight armors and coats of arms. We couldn't take pictures inside the chapel, either.




After the castle, we had a few hours to explore the town of Eton. We saw Eton College, where princes William and Harry attended.



Then Katie, Diana and I decided to take a boat tour. It was not as interesting as our Friday boat tour, and it was cold, but it was ok.

Some swans and ducks in the Thames pre-boat tour.

The conductor said that boat saved 60 Allied Powers' lives in the war... not sure how.

This bridge was pretty. It also contracts and expands with the change in weather, which I'm sure Ms. Connor would be happy to know.

View of Windsor Castle from the boat. It's actually even bigger than you can see from this picture.

Last night, I went out with some girls from our dorm to the Queen's Arms and the Gardening Club. We were disappointed with the Gardening Club because it took us 45 minutes to get in, and it was "brown sugar" night, so they played older music.

Today I went to the Indian Festival on Regent Street. It was fun -- I saw some good performances and browsed the stands for jewelry, baskets, scarves, etc.

Exhibit

Indian archway

Horse with Indian attire


Indian Decorations

A mural

Another mural

It was so crowded that I felt like I was actually in India.

I came upon this group by accident.

A big drum followed them down the street until they got to a performance arena. The drum kept shooting out ribbons and confetti.

Then the drum opened in a cloud of smoke and 5 musicians were inside it! It was pretty cool.

I start classes tomorrow! Well, I only have one class everyday, but it's always 4 hours long. Oh, joy. My class tomorrow doesn't start until 3pm, so I might go to a museum or Hyde Park in the morning (which are right near my dorm).