Monday, January 03, 2005

A day out in Greenwich

Today was a bank holiday (the English term for public holiday) so I didn't have to work. In fact I start a new job tomorrow, in The Strand, which will be nice. Hopefully! It will be good to work in a different part of town at least. So, seeing as though I did not have to be anywhere today, I decided to head off to Greenwich. Scott had to work today, but that's ok, because we will have to go back!

I caught the tube to Bank, and changed to the Docklands Light Railway, which is the scarey tram-like service with no drivers!! Anyway, got off at Greenwich and found the Cutty Sark, a large ship from the 1600s sometime. I took a few photos and found the information centre and got a map and a whole bunch of pamphlets. I decided to go to the Royal Observatory first up. It was a bit of a hike, through Greenwich Park and up the top of a hill. But it was worth it. The view from the top of the hill was great. I could see the Millenium Dome, most of greenwich itself and the River Thames.

The Royal Observatory is free to get in, which made it even better! I saw the Greenwich Meridian Line, where all longitudes are measured from. I wandered through the museum they have set up there. It's really very good. There were many astronomical instruments on display, as well as information panels, models, etc. There was a camera obscura as well, which is a lens and a mirror set up at the top of one of the towers. It projects the image of Greenwich (what it can "see")
onto a white painted table in a blackened room. It was really interesting.

From there I wandered back into the main street, grabbed a bite to eat and then headed off to another museum. This one was the Fan Museum. A museum dedicated entirely to the art of the fan. Quite well done, but could do with more of it's collection on show. There was a certificate in the ladies', congratulating the museum for the "Best Loo". Hmmmm.....

It was starting to get dark at this point, so I wandered down to the ferry, and bought my ticket. I caught a ferry back along the Thames into Embankment, where we were yesterday, and then two tubes home. And here I am!

There are so many great places to see and things to do in this city. I am determined to do as many of them as I can. It's what I am here for, right? I really enjoy wandering around, and I really enjoyed my day today. I went where I wanted to go, did what I wanted to do. It was a great day. It is kind of a shame that I have to go out and earn money! But if I want to travel around, then I have to earn the cash to be able to spend it!!

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