All Grand Tours need objectives, even if it is just to maintain the pace! Homealone has an objective. It is to obtain an Archie Mug to match the one she has commemorating the birth of Princess Charlotte.

So after scouring the souvenir shops along Portobello Rd and other locations nearby without luck we headed off to Windsor Castle to see if he is there visiting the great grandmother. Maybe we will find a mug there? It is not that we haven’t seen a mug with him on it. But it was very thick and the photo adorning it seemed to have been pinched off the internet and then mass produced on China china mugs. Not very satisfactory and certainly not a match for the authentic Charlotte Mug. We will keep looking.

On the way to the station we passed by the Oyster Bar where we had the not so great expensive fish n chips on our first night. The eatery is housed in the 1911 London headquarters of the Michelin Tyre Co. Ltd. It was restored to its former glory in 2011 for its centenary year. What a great old building. Stained  glass windows of Bibendum, the Michelin Man, and ceramic wall tiles of early racing cars that were shod with Michelin tyres. We had the dinner in the former workshop bay at the front of the building.

Michelin Building

An early racer

It was clear and sunny at Windsor as we strolled around the Thames River bank and took a short cruise up the river and back. Lots of people around, particularly near the castle and the surrounding streets and cafes, tourist shops etc. The Queen wasn’t in so Archie probably wasn’t. No mugs either, we will keep looking. It was suggested by a shop keeper that we might be a wee bit early and there hadn’t yet been enough time for the production run to get going. Come back later.

Windsor Castle from our river cruise boat.

The Castle from the railway station

Main gate at Windsor

The barman in the pub where we stopped for a refreshment didn’t know who Archie was. What hope do we have!  Allthego took some  inspiration here from a big photo of Winston Churchill and also pondered on some of his words of wisdom:

“Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse pulling a sturdy wagon”.

Not much has changed in the years since.

Having someone famous look over your shoulder.

The Thames from the historic Windsor Bridge.

Homealone waiting at the gate to get into The Boatman.

After dinner, at ‘The Boatman’ beside the Thames as the sun went down, we headed back to London. The search for an Archie mug would continue in the morning.

Had a slow start to the next day and decided to do a short trip into the city to see St Pauls Cathedral and the Old Bailey Courthouses. Have missed these in the past. The 17.50 pounds each to get into the Cathedral was, we thought, a bit on the steep side. You could get in for free if you went to a service. Impressive building and a great view looking up from the river. Homealone couldn’t resist some liquorish assortments and chocolate coated raisins from Hardy’s old time lolly shop.

St Pauls

From the Millennium Bridge to Tower Bridge

Buying those lollies in Hardys.

Still couldn’t locate an Archie mug. We will now wait a while before resuming the search. The Watts arrive from Australia tomorrow to join us for the next stage of the Grand Tour.