London

Day Two

Temperature:  maximum 11 degrees with a cold start.

Weather:  inclement

What a difference a day makes in weather.  After yesterday’s glorious sunshine today couldn’t have been more different.  The day progressed from some sun to bleak to drizzle!

We have planned our trip to London to take in the sights we have not seen before so today’s agenda included a trip on the Thames to Greenwich and a tour of St Paul’s.  On our two previous trips we visited many of the famous landmarks twice as we showed our children London.

We emerged from the underground at Westminster station directly to Westminster Pier.  The drizzle had started as we purchased the tickets and continued from then on.  The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben were on our right and the Millennium Wheel on the other side of the river.  The Thames cruise took an hour to Greenwich with two stops at the giant wheel and The Tower of London.

You know you are in London.......

It was an interesting journey and it convinced me Prince Charles was very accurate in describing London’s architecture as ugly.  I have never seen so many hideous buildings including the Tate Modern which the prince described as a nuclear bunker…very accurate!

The Tate Modern....did I mention nuclear bunker?

We passed the Globe Theatre on the way to Greenwich.

We walked from the delightful township of Greenwich to the Royal Observatory along a tree lined road to the top of the hill.  There were more cheeky little squirrels along the way.  We had a dreary view over London in the distance and directly below us the equestrian events area was being built.

The Observatory is the home of the Prime Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time.  We toured the observatory and saw where John Flamsteed worked as the Royal Astronomer for King Charles II in the 17^th century.  It was here he observed the stars every night for forty years crossing the meridian line and established longtitude 0.0.0 and hence Greenwich Mean Time fell into place.  By the 1800’s over 85% of clocks were set by this standard.  David and I spent some time straddling the meridian line and helping other tourists take their photos.  I loved the young couple who kissed over the western hemisphere to the eastern hemisphere…..Italian of course!  They obviously felt comfortable with us as I took several photos for them as they checked each shot.

Couldn't help myself....one foot in the eastern hemisphere and the other in the western!

A brisk walk back to Greenwich Village and an Italian lunch prepared us for the remainder of the day.

We alighted at the Tower of London and were drawn into the tourist shop where we purchased a few souvenirs for the family….so many lovely things!  St Paul’s was the next on our agenda but we were greeted with a crowd outside the church and no admittance was allowed.  Our tour of the church was off the agenda however second prize was the emergence of the Dalai Lama after a special awards ceremony was conducted inside.  We managed to get quite close as he passed right by where David and I were standing.  I think his entourage of robed priests would have felt the cold today and I noticed they were wearing shoes and socks and not sandals.

Yes...this close!  A huge congregation emerged from the church following the Dalai Lama.

David and I stood out of the rain and replanned our afternoon.  Only 300 metres up the road was the London Museum so we had another plan!  The London Museum is hidden amongst a business district and is accessed via a footbridge over the busy road.  What a wonderful museum this is as it describes London through the ages.  We saw Oliver Cromwell’s death mask, a documentary of the Black Death which hovered over England for over 300 years, chain mail beautifully preserved and a very interesting arcade of Victorian shops.  We ended with a documentary of World War II in London through Londoner’s eyes…..fascinating.

It was then back to our hotel via the underground…..we are getting so good at this and the Oyster Card is a great way to get around.

We met with David’s niece and her husband for dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant.  It was lovely to catch up and a great way to end another special day in this wonderful city.

Postscript:  the BBC is featuring a discussion about SAD (seasonal adjustment disorder) where the English are becoming depressed from the lack of sun.  Generally, the English apparently cheer up in May!