Do you immediately curse the public rail network and then want to throw yourself in front of the next service each time you find that your train is delayed, or worse, canceled? Does the thought of watching paint dry make you want to inhale the fumes to end the misery? How about sitting in front of your PC while it defrags? I like to consider myself a patient person. The main thing about the above mentioned activities is that there's some metric of progress. My visa on the other hand is a black box. Submit and wait. There's nothing I can do, the outcome isn't guaranteed. I'm not even waiting for news, just a result. Waiting...
Keeping with our desire to experience more of England outside of London. We chanced our arm with Windsor. I mean if it's good enough for the Queen and the Royal Family then surely it must be good enough for us convict commoners. The primary attraction of course is Windsor Castle but deep down we were all secretly harbouring high expectations of Legoland.
To avoid time wasting this excursion was dutifully organised with train tickets, Castle and theme park admission all pre-paid (Thanks Jen). An early rendezvous at Paddington station would give us ample time to see both the Castle and Legoland. The group slowly assembled from 10 am people arriving from Limehouse, Arsenal, Chalk Farm, Holloway Road and Sloane Square. Many were hung over and backing up after an intense evening of boardgames and alcohol. The journey to Slough would take no more than 25 minutes by train. A short interconnecting train and we were soon at Windsor and Eton station. Currently reading
The White Tiger.
Windsor Castle (£16 + Train)
Audio guides at the best of times leave me wanting. Learning that Windsor Castle offered a free audio guide (read, free) left me somewhat dubious about the quality of the guide. The group shared this skepticism and unanimously decided that a (free) guided tour would provide a more stimulating experience. We waited 5 minutes for the midday tour and were soon being escorted around the grounds. We, like a class on a primary school excursion were constantly being told to be quiet, to pay attention and not to dawdle. It would be the beginning of re-living our childhood in Windsor. The tour was enjoyable and educational and more importantly checked off one of England's famous tourist destinations.
There would be only one queue within the grounds of Windsor Castle. A line stretching 30 metres long from the entrance of Queen Mary's Doll House. Little did we know this would be the first of many queues for the day. We waited approximately 25 minutes to get inside. Walking around the doll house we were initially awed until we soon found ourselves standing outside 5 minutes later. It was impressive but was it really worth the wait?
Legoland (£21)
Us:
"We'd like to book some tickets for Legoland"
Legoland:
"How many adults will be going?"
Us:
"Seven"
Legoland:
"And how many children?"
Us:
"mmm... none"
Legoland's main demographic is children and if not children then the parents who bring the children along. We fell into neither category, which was apparent. Our objective, eat as much junk food, go on as many rides and see as much as possible. Of the time spent inside Legoland at least 50% of our time was spent waiting in line. Laser Ride in particular had us waiting 1 whole hour before we were seated. The highlight for me were the Lego sculptures: Motorcycles, statues, dinosaurs, people and cities. Distorted replicas of everyday objects like a plastic mosaic.
We waited for our taxi outside Legoland. Kids were running around and clearly outlasted us with an enthusiasm only an infant could sustain. After 15 minutes of waiting we decided to jump on the first available bus back to the station. There are complications when leaving an attraction at closing time: Traffic and crowds. Stuck behind a trail of brake lights stretching as far as the eye could see we spent the best part of 30 minutes stuck in traffic. Exhausted, famished and agitated we spoke of the banquet that awaited us back in London. The constant screaming of a child on the bus sounded like a jackhammer on corrugated iron. We missed our 8 pm train back to London and waited another 25 minutes for the next train.
Finally arrived in Bayswater at 9 pm, almost three hours to get home. Huddled outside Gold Mine restaurant we waited 15 minutes before being seated at our table. We ordered a sumptuous meal and the hot food instantly brought smiles to our previously grumpy faces. The day finished off with an excellent night out at Ruby Blue, champagne glass Jägerbombs and early morning Peking Duck.
So a day of waiting, a day of childhood nostalgia. They say good things come to those who... Wait, where's my visa?
