BES Assignment 6 (Greenwich)

Today we went to Greenwich via a riverboat tour. We explored Greenwich, saw a lot of stuff, and made our way back on the DLR, seeing the Canary Wharf area. What we saw included: the prime meridian, Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Queen's Gallery, and Greenwich Market. All had different cultural insights to offer.

Abby & Me on the Prime Meridian

After the death hill climb up to the Royal Observatory we made it to the prime meridian. The idea of being in two different hemispheres was neat, a little mind blowing, but cool. I really enjoyed the museum/ Royal Observatory because I am obsessed with clocks. There was a giant grandfather clock that you could open and look into how it runs. We made our way down to the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's Gallery, located next to each other...what different atmospheres. I really enjoyed the Maritime Museum, but almost fell asleep in the Queen's Gallery. The maritime museum was fun, interesting, and even romantic at times. I immediately liked it when I walked into the first room and saw one of my favorite love quotes from Romeo & Juliet on the wall. Museums can sometime be super boring but this one was really fun. Aside from the 500 screaming kids running around in pirate outfits I enjoyed spending time there. We then made our way to the Queen's Gallery, what a drag...afterwards we were all ready for some food. We followed our noses to the Greenwich Market, filled with food, jewelry, and Greenwich specialized products. After hearing that Greenwich's "Cafe Sol" restaurant had some of the best Mexican food in London, we decided to have a go. Pretty accurate description, I haven't had any Mexican food since being here, but I'm sure it ranks in the top categories. On our way to lunch we saw a little gelatto/cupcake shop that we went to for dessert after lunch. They had dozens of flavors, all in Italian. After sampling some I decided to get the pancake flavored cupcake, soooo good!  

Inside the Maritime Museum

Wall with love quotes in the Maritime Museum 

We made our way home via the DLR to Canary Wharf. Mark was right when he said the Canary Wharf tube station was like a museum. It was very nicely decorated and seemed high class. On our way from the station we got into to the Jubilee line we walked through part of the Canary Wharf area...all I could think while I was there was, "I bet this would be a great place to find a nice rich boy"...is that bad? haha but seriously, they were everywhere! From what I know about the ritzy-business atmosphere of Canary Wharf, I don't think that it's a far assumption.    

Overall, Greenwich provided me with a further insight into a different aspect of English culture. The streets and gates were decorated with anchors and ropes to commemorate the maritime museum, which I thought was charming. I wish it would have been a little warmer out for the riverboat tour. Since we usually go on day tours far away from London I kept forgetting that we were still in zone 2, London has so much to offer just a short distance away!