There is Castle on a Cloud...

Sunday we took a day trip to Windsor Castle.  A real castle!

We didn't take the tour since it cost £15 (about $23).  

But we hung around the beautiful building, people-watching and relaxing.  Some in our group went on a walk or boat ride. 

We weren't alone, the Queen was there! Well, she is every weekend. It's the Windsor castle. She's part of the Windsor line. 

At 5pm, we queued (lined up) for Evensong in the St. George's Chapel. This was the one time we got to enter castle grounds.  We felt pretty special.  This was one of my favorite evensong services of the trip.  The chapel was beautiful and the choir was fantastic.  For the second (New Testament) lesson, the priest taught the parable of the sower, which I studied in class this past semester.  It was interesting to listen to it again and learn about all the types of people who accept/reject the word of God.

Monday we had class with Simon Berridge, a member of Harry Cristophers' Sixteen.  He is also a converted Latter-day Saint, so we asked him questions about how he balances his faith with singing Anglican music and being involved in choirs in England.  We also got to sing, which was unbelievably refreshing.  We have hardly sung on this study abroad, and that has been the greatest disappointment. We pulled out a few pieces and he coached us and taught us a few things.

Today (Tuesday) we are taking another day trip to Cambridge. I can't believe there are only a few days left of this trip.  I am definitely going to live them up.