Reckitt Benckiser and Windsor Castle

The day began quite early this morning and I have been exploring non-stop since. The first destination on our agenda was Reckitt Benckiser, a UK company specializing in consumer products. We took a train and then a taxi before finally arriving at Reckitt. While at the company we attended a wonderful and informative presentation given my Ms. Andrea Dawson-Shepherd. We learned all about the company, how it markets its products and the products it sells. Some of the more popular brands of the company are French's Mustard, Clearasil, Veet and Lysol. Reckitt has an interesting strategy to focus its main marketing on its 17 Powerbrands. I found it interesting that even though Reckitt has hundreds of brands, it has chosen to focus on 17 of them. This strategy is obviously working for the company because the company has continued to have substanstial growth during the last several years. It was quite cool visiting the company that makes such famous brands. After visiting Reckitt, we took taxis to Windsor Castle. I could not believe my eyes when I stepped out of the taxi and saw this mountainous structure of stone in front of me. To see a real life castle was so amazing and like nothing I had ever seen before. I went immediately to the entrance and bought my ticket into the castle. Walking around with Katie and Angel, we saw so many amazing things. The views from the castle grounds were breathtaking and the objects inside were so ornate and full of history. We toured the inside of the State Apartments for about 45 minutes and did not even cover half of the castle grounds because it is so large. Our exploration of the castle continued as we made our way to the magnificent St. George's Chapel. Inside this chapel and ceilings that touch the sky and stone and wood carvings like nothing I had ever seen. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the castle or chapel so I cannot share the beauty with you. I am proud to say that I visited Windsor Castle on a day that the Queen was there. I was hoping to see her and thought I was going to at one point, but she never came out and got into the car that was waiting. Even though I did not see the Queen, I did see the next best thing, the guards. They are just like in the movies with the tall black feathery hats, enormous guns and shiny black shoes that click when they walk. I pulled the classic tourist act and had my picture taken next to a guard. I made sure to say thank you to him after the photo, but I received no response. I guess he didn't find the photo as cool as I did. :) Each day I am learning so many new things and exploring so many new locations. I feel like this country has an endless amount of places to visit and I love it. Check back tomorrow!

AM