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Standing on the Prime Meridian in Greenwich
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Day 5 begins with a boat trip on the Thames to Greenwich, about 35 min away
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Shakespear's Globe Theater. We will see on Day 7
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Recognize St. Paul's?
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IMG_3486
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A rare opportunity, the Tower Bridge closing after opening for a taller boat ahead of us
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All back to normal closed position
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Electic modern buildings. From he left the cheesegrater, tip of the gerkin and the walkie talkie
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The Millennium Bridge, a pedestrian bridge wiggled when people walked on it. It was promptly closed for repairs for 20 months, $8 million later
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The Monument to the Great Fire of 1666 tucked between the buildings in this view from the Thames
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As we approach Greenwich we first pass the new Docklands development which has been built in a former run down area of ship piers. This is the "new" London
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Statue of Sir Walter Raleigh in Greenwich. Raleigh was an explorer, politician, soldier, writer and poet. He is credited with bringing Tobacco to England. Remember the photos of the Tower of London? He was excuted there in 1618. Check out his bio.
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The old Royal Naval College which was originally built as a veterans' hospital in 1692. In 1873 the hospital was transformed into the school
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Through these gates at the dock by the college, Sir Francis Drake returned to England in 1580 after cirumnavigating the world. He brought riches taken from the Spanish and gave them to Queen Elizabeth I at this location. He was knighted in 1581.
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The Royal Navy vacated these buildings in 1998. Today it houses university and music students and is a concert and convention venue
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New high rtises at the Docklands. Foreground is old Royal Naval College and the Queen's House. Taken from the Royal Observatory
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Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian from which all time zones are based
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Marketplace back in downtown Greenwich. A busy Sunday afternoon
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I think this was a spicy hamburger. Probably cost $15. Did I mention London is VERY expensive?
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After a lot of uphill/downhill walking this hit the spot
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A quick walk from lunch and I arrived at the famous Cutty Sark. Among the fastest clipper ships, she was built in 1869 to bring tea from China to England
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Sign indicating that 90% of the hull plans are original
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Beautiful deck.
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She had 32,000 sq. ft of sails and with favorabl;e winds could travel 300 miles in 24 hours
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With the intro of steamships in the 20th Century, the clipper ships were outmatched for speed. Cutty Sark was the world's last operating clipper ship. She was a training ship for a period of time but was retired and turned into a museum in the 1950's. a
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Did you know I was in the US Navy? Don't I look natural on that ship?
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Ship's wheel
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The galley
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Keeping with the sea theme, I ended the day at the Sea Life Aquarium, rather than going up in the London Eye which is next door. Looks like a sting ray
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Colorful clownfish....I think
