Be forewarned -- this post may be very long. It'll be heavily made up of photos though, so hopefully it won't be too boring.
Yesterday my class took a field trip to Greenwich, led part of the way by the British Politics professor who insisted we get there by boat. I have never had this professor for any of my classes, but he is apparently very popular and has connections all over England. It sounded like a great opportunity.
As it turned out, our boat got stuck under a bridge and arrived over 40 minutes late to take us to Greenwich. Noneheless, everyone was very good natured about everything. I mean, really, how can you complain while you're waiting for a tour boat under the watchful London Eye on one bank and the regal Big Ben tower on the other, with a bagpipest is playing Scottish tunes somewhere in the distance?
Eventually we got off the dock and the tour boat began its slow progression own the Thames. It was freezing cold and windy, but I sat on top anyway to take in the views.
Shakespeare Globe Theatre
We crossed under many of the landmarks I've seen from the shore -- it's really interesting to see them from the water, as it gives you a new perspective on where things are in relation to one another.
Picture courtesy of Christy Wright
Tower Bridge was one of the main highlights of the boat ride. I've sort of come to feel that, like the London Eye, Tower Bridge is just a little overdone; that said, it's still a beautiful and recognizable icon of London.
Tower of London is another major attraction -- again, an impeccable piece of architecture and feat of ancient engineering, but overpriced and a bit overdone. Definitely a cool feature of the skyline though.
Prof. Mortin talking about the Hall
We arrived in Greenwich about an hour after we'd left London. The professor took us up to the Old Royal Naval College and into one of the most remarkable buildings I have ever seen. Appropriately named "Painted Hall," every square inch of the interior was adorned with massive murals. Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay very long at all, so I wasn't able to learn much about the building or its history.
Next we were swept off to the Chapel, which resembled some of the other churches I've been in recently. Again, it was gorgeous and very peaceful, but we didn't stay long.
We had lunch in Greenwich Street Market, which sold lots of antiques, silks, and vintage items. I took a picture of this booth for Ellie -- it had quite a few very old mounted animals! They didn't look nearly as good as hers, but I thought she'd get a kick out of it. :-)
For some reason, I thought of Dad when we found this place. Think of the movie Chocolat, only with every kind of candy you could imagine! Ironically called "Mr. Humbugs," the store was like stepping back in time to some Willy Wonka scene. The guy could tell you everything about every kind of candy he sold, the history of candy, and even what kinds of candy you would like.
All too quickly we were swept off again, up a tall hill, and to the Royal Observatory wherethe Prime Meridian can be found.
The famous line, above, indicating the Western (left) and Eastern (right) hemispheres!
Had to get the classic picture standing in both at once...
My whole class at the Prime Meridian (Photo by Christy Wright)
By the time we made it to the meridian, we had very little time left before we had to catch the ferry back to London. I went through the little museum at the observatory which had information about the first telescopes, clocks, and navigation systems. I didn't have time to check out the planetarium or the maritime museums though, so I think I'm going to take the Tube back sometime to check those out.
Greenwich was totally a worthwhile trip -- I just wish we could have had more time there. Great experience though!
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