The Royal Borough

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of job hunting, currency converting, arguing with banks and exploring Windsor.

Sam and I have been to many of the local pubs sampling the cider and (Sam’s favourite) warm ales. Our first pub lunch was at a place called The King and Castle because it had a great looking beer garden. We’ve since been told it turns in to a Chavtastic place at night so I guess we won’t be heading there for dinner.  Other pubs in the area worth a mention are Manda and Fearg’s favourite The Two Brewers, who pour a mean pint of Guinness, and The Horse & Groom whose cellar used to lead to a passage under the road and through to the castle. The King at the time apparently used to pop in for a sneaky pint and then wander on home.

Lizzie was in town when we first arrived in Windsor, but unfortunately she left the day we headed to her place. Exploring Windsor Castle was still pretty amazing. We’d been to the Evensong service a few days earlier and had a glimpse inside the castle walls and chapel. Heading back we opted for the full tourist experience complete with changing of the guards and audio commentary. It’s amazing how old the place is and how big it is too – many lawns to keep manicured and carpets to vacuum.

People say that service is pretty average over here and I assumed they were exaggerating. They weren’t. We tried to open bank accounts with HSBC but after an exhausting week trying to prove who we were, we then spent another exhausting week trying to close the accounts. UGH. Lloyds TSB however, were fantastic. I can highly recommend a guy in Windsor who set everything up for us in 20 minutes. But apart from that I can confirm that banks do generally suck over here.

Here's Sam with all his paperwork - super excited that he's just opened a bank account across the road from Windsor Castle.

We’ve been for some primo walks around here too. There is the Long Walk. It’s very straight and deceptively long. And wandered around Eton. Everything here seems so quaint and English. Sam’s happily replaced the Sky Tower in Auckland with Windsor Castle as his point to navigate from.

Oh and Sam was stopped by some people on a treasure hunt looking for something ‘kiwi’ after they noticed his Steinlager t-shirt. The jandals and ponamu just added to the whole kiwi package I think. I took photos of them taking photos.