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A 10 Year Old Granddaughter’s Trip to England
By Richard & Yvonne Mason

After only three days into our visit to England, our 10 year old granddaughter was a “local” looking right then left as we crossed the busy streets of London.

Seven nights in London and Windsor with Grammy and Pop was wildly successful, and outrageously expensive. The pound worth approximately twice as much as the dollar.

We started our sightseeing at the royal families home for 900 years and the Queen’s official residence Windsor Castle. Queen Mary’s dollhouse and strangely live looking dolls were a big hit. But, nothing compared to the elegant staterooms with paintings from the royal collection. Yes, they are the real thing, Leonardo, Rubens and Michelangelo. St. George’s Chapel, (the castle’s church), a lovely gothic structure, houses the tombs of ten royals.

A barge trip up the Thames is a refreshing contrast to the royal richness. The cruise offered lazy views of Eton, Michael Caine’s house and the understated Royal Windsor Racetrack.

We stayed at the Langton House B&B in Windsor and our granddaughter got a lesson in how to fry an egg from the proprietor Paul Fogg. Windsor is a charming small town especially when the tourists leave around dusk. Restaurants include Indian, Turkish, Moroccan, Italian and Vegetarian. The shopping is good, too. And, because the dollar is worth so little, I introduced my Granddaughter to thrift shop shopping. She loved it and purchased several darling outfits for less than L.10.

The little traveler was frequently referred to as “princess”, every little American girl’s dream.

We found that one big attraction a day is about right for a young one. Hampton Court was a hit with frescoed ceilings and the maze. She traversed the maze in 10 minutes, flat.

The gates at Hampton Court must be a replica of the gates to heaven.

A child’s education would not be complete without a trip to the British Museum. What is more impressive than the Rosetta Stone, that helped to crack the hieroglyphics of Egypt and the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon of Athens and the library has to be one of the biggest in existence.

We taxied to Leichester Square to purchase same day tickets to “The Producers.” Afterwards at the stage door the actors were more than happy to sign our granddaughter’s program. Around the corner we discovered Sarastro a very fun Turkish inspired set designed restaurant with good food and opera.

Kenningston Palace (the former home of Princess Di, a favorite of 10 year olds), with splendid grounds, a Di memorial garden and orangery were a real treat, Orangeries were the rage in 17th-18th century when royals were trying to grow citrus indoors, in the winter, in northern climates. We loved the food here, the fresh tomato/basil soup and, of course, the pastries eaten while intermitted rain competed with the bright blue sky.

We strolled past surf shops, skateboard shops (an owner gave our granddaughter free decals), many restaurants, Di’s favorite pizza DeMori’s and took in a show of Bejewelled by Tiffany 1837-1987 at the Somerset House. Every would be princess needs to see an 128 carat canary diamond.

What better way to end the trip than with a visit to Westminster Abby with over a thousand years of amazing history. “Amazing” is the word we heard constantly from our granddaughter. The highpoint was the Tower of London, also with a thousand years of history. Richard sent for tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys, a ceremony that has been performed every night for the past 700 years. It was thrilling to be at the Tower of London at 9:30 p.m. and feel the ghosts of yesteryear.

A guide at the Tower of London told us “ Ten is the perfect age, old enough to have read history and before the difficulty of puberty sets in.” Our granddaughter, who previously ate only white food like rice, potatoes, bread, learned to enjoy Italian, Turkish and Indian food and was the perfect little princess.

Last update Wed May 5, 2010 7:13 PM