Greenwich was a nice change of pace from everyday London life. I loved taking the riverboat there - even though the weather wasn't particularly nice! On our way there, the boat captain gave us a few tidbits about the places we were passing (apparently if you aren't a registered "tour guide" then you can't say you're giving a "tour"... it's known as information... ha) which helped to give significance to a lot of the things we've seen from land but not necessarily known about. He touched on the fact that the river used to be the main hub of trading in the city, and was the most important way of transporting goods to be consumed. He also informed us that all the tap water in London comes from the Thames: "It's the only water on Earth that you can drink and chew at the same time!"..... too much information.
Once we arrived, we went straight to the Royal Observatory, which was quite a hike uphill. The whole way up I couldn't help but wonder how elderly people get there, considering I had to take a few breaks myself! At the top of the hill was an amazing view of London, including the Olympic Stadium. Mark told us that the park below is going to be the site for the Equestrian competitions during the Olympics, so we made it just in time before the park was closed down for preparation!
At the Royal Observatory, we got a picture standing in both hemispheres which was pretty cool. I felt like I was Mandy Moore in A Walk to Remember (apologies to Mark if you don't understand the reference.. great film if you have time) but it was definitely a good tourist attraction! The Observatory itself I found pretty boring.... sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't particularly interested in all the clocks and "timekeepers" they had on display.
After leaving the Observatory, we had lunch at Cafe Sol, which was pretty decent Mexican food! It was the first time we'd had it since I've been here, so it was a nice change of pace. Following that, we stopped through Greenwich Market. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but it had some pretty nice things. There were a few food shops inside, as well as some vintage clothing and little knick-knacks. I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to browse!
After that, we visited the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's Gallery. I liked the interactive parts of the Maritime Museum. A lot of them were made for children, which I think is why I found it fun :) It was also interesting to see all of the different things they imported and their worth at different points in history. The Queen's Gallery definitely wasn't as interactive... it was more portraits, but we did get to see the official portrait of Queen Victoria which is pretty famous and I've seen it before in history and art books.
We finished up by stopping through Canary Wharf - it definitely seemed like a little piece of America. We spent a good bit of time just walking through the tube station and looking at the shops there... by the way, who has a Tiffany's inside a tube stop? I thought that was a little different. The day was pretty relaxing overall, and it was nice to get out of the business of the city for a bit.
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