A Day in Time

When I first read the syllabus and saw that my class was going to Greenwich I thought oh, that's nice. Don't really know what's there, don't have any high expectations for it, but I guess it will be cool.

Greenwich. Was. Awesome.

Yesterday, I took a ferry boat down the River Thames to the old fishing village of Greenwich, home to the Royal Naval College, the Painted hall, Trinity College of Music, The National Maritime Muserum, and the Old Royal Observatory.

A few of the girls on the ferry down the river!

 I walked through an 18th century tea clipper, The Cutty Sark, that has been all around the world and whose hull has touched the waters of every ocean.

Drvin the ship! ;D

Cutty Sark!

I went to The Painted Hall, which was designed by famous London architect Christopher Wren (best known for St. Paul's Cathedral) and painted by James Thornhill. Thorhill began the laborious painting project in 1708 and finally completed the breathtaking masterpiece 19 years later.

Class in The Painted Hall!

The sun FINALLY came out.

View of London from Greenwich

I ate an organic wrap in Greenwich Market, which was full of beans, sweet potatoes, mint, hummus, salsa, cous cous, and all kinds of other delicious things and which, for 4 pounds, kept me full for about 6 amazing hours. (Usually I'm dying after two!)

I climbed to the other side of Greenwich up to the Royal Observatory, where I planted one foot in the east and one in the West over the Prime Meridian, saw where "time was invented," and saw the first pendulum clock.

Standing in the east, and standing in the west, bam ;)

The class on the Prime Meridian! :)

One of my classmates, Jody, and I broke off from the group when we were dismissed at 3:30 and made our way down to the National Maritime Museum. We only had an hour before the museum closed, but out of sheer luck I asked a curator where the display on Horatio Nelson-- victor of the Battle of Trafalgar-- was and he pointed us in the right direction, informing us that a special speaker had come in to give a talk on Nelson at 4:00. Jody and I rushed to the gallery just in time to hear a marvelous woman tell captivating stories about this English naval hero; a historical figure I who has suddenly begun to fascinate me. When the talk was over we couldn't believe a whole 45 minutes had gone by, and we breezed through the gift shop before the doors to the museum were closed on us. Listening to the Nelson talk was completely worth it though-- it was a pleasant surprise and a great treat, and I learned a LOT!

The Nelson expert

The jacket Nelson was wearing when he died in battle!

Jody and I got to the Underground and navigated our way back to the dorms, arriving at King's College an hour later. Jamie called to ask if I wanted to go down to the Riverside Walk for a 4th of July hotdog, and on our way out one of my flatmates invited us to an American party being hosted at a local bar for all the Americans in London to celebrate their Independence Day. We decided to dress up and go see what that was all about, but only stayed for about 45 minutes. There were hundreds of people crammed into a hot, itty bitty space, super loud music, outrageously expensive drinks, and we were both utterly exhausted from a long day of learning at sightseeing. So we sneaked back out again and took a leisurely walk through the beautiful, lit up city of London on our way back to the dorm for a good night's rest! Maybe I'm lame, but crowded, noisy clubs just aren't my thing I guess. I'll stick to finding the tombstones of my favorite authors and discovering unique Shakespeare plays.

Amurica

Today our class is being visited by children's literature expert Mary Cadogen and we have the opportunity to eat lunch with her afterwards at Gabriel's Wharf. Tomorrow I go to Canterbury and Dover, on Saturday to Stonehenge and Bath, and on Sunday Jamie and I have planned a trip to Kensington Gardens to see the stage performance of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and have tea at Kensington Palace! So if you don't hear from me again soon stay posted, I'll try to log in an update as soon as possible!

TTFN! Ta ta for now!