Third Day Means We're Off to Greenwich!

On day three, we went on adventure to Greenwich. To get there, we were to take a ferry up the Thames, but we got there a bit early. Therefore, exploring time! We were right next to Parliament and the London Eye again. As we walked around, we happened upon a man in full Scottish garb playing the bagpipes. It was actually very cool. I feel as if you can walk around any part of London and see people from all walks of life.

When the ferry was ready, we all boarded and quite a few of us rushed straight to the second story. As cold as the air was outside, the views of London were too amazing to pass up. The men driving the boat pointed out buildings and other points of interest we probably would have just glanced by. For example, he pointed out the Egyptian pillar whose twin is in Central Park. The giant pirate ship was cool as well. I only wish that some of the Wharfs were still in operation. It is cool that they keep some of the facades of the old Wharfs and converted them into million dollar apartments. Going down the river also gave us the opportunity to go under some of the famous London bridges. We also got to see the left over pillars from bridges no longer there, which we never would have seen if we just took the tube to Greenwich. On a more random note, I thought the boatmen pointing the sights out were very funny. I guess I expected more of the stereotypical witty, dry humor that I guess Americans associated with the Brits.

The trip to Greenwich was amazing, but we were all super excited when we finally arrived. After pausing to take a lot of fun group pictures, we had to split up and pretend to not know each other so we could go into the viewing room of the naval academy. It was kind of funny because, while we were practically strangers a few days before, the whole group was too close to not want to make comments to one another and take pictures of each other. The murals in the room were amazing though. They covered the entire ceiling and most of the walls, and all in all it was just breathtaking.

Speaking of breath taking. Later we went to the Royal Observatory. Honestly, it looked like the observatory was right around the corner on a little hill, but in reality that hill was practically a 45-degree angle. O.o London was definitely putting me to my physical limits to see how much I really wanted to make the most of the trip. Just like St. Paul's Cathedral, however, the view was very worth it. While nowhere near as high up in the air, the horizon was the city of London and it was a beautiful site. The Royal Observatory was sadly overshadowed by the Prime Meridian as everyone scurried over to wait in line for pictures. Plenty of OHIO pictures and the like. Being able to stand in two different hemispheres is not something you can do in too many places in the world. After we got all of our pictures, we went ahead and explored the Observatory museum. The kind of technology developed back when they had so little knowledge of what would and wouldn't work was actually really cool. It's actually kind of sad the Prime Meridian stole the little museum's thunder (but I guess not as many people would go if it wasn't there).

My favorite part of the day, however, was when we got to explore the market. Stall after stall filled this large area with items ranging from handmade clothes and bowls to pop culture items. The first thing that hits you as you enter, though, was the food! They have food from all walks of life that I would never have expected to see in one spot. For example, there was Ethiopian food right next to Japanese cuisine. Vegan cupcakes besides crepes. It was heaven in a bazaar. I liked being able to walk around and see so many different people with so much to offer. Everyone had their own skill set and were just trying to make a living or get extra cash doing what they know how to do. Of course, I might be biased because I am a girl who enjoys shopping. ;)

After our adventures in Greenwich, we took the DLR back to downtown London. Sadly, night comes on quickly in London, and by the time we arrived at the London Eye it was pitch black. Getting our tickets was a little more difficult than expected, so we got to go to the "4D" experience of the London eye. It was kind of funny, what with the video's outrageousness. Really, everyone just wanted to go on the actual eye. Sadly, when we actually did get onto the real eye, it had begun raining in classic London fashion. Rain plus darkness did not make for a good viewing of London, or for many good pictures. I wish we could have gone during the day. We were scared for a moment too, because being in a giant metal eye when there's lightening outside is not the most ideal of situations. Specially, when the eye starts moving backwards. But we made it all the way around!

By the time we ran back to the underground in the rain and made it back to the hotel, the rain had subsided. I was glad because it was my friend's birthday, so we were going to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park to celebrate. There were lots of stands again and a few live bands. The bands, however, were playing a wide variety of music, but most from the US, which I found very interesting. Again, the fair was full of people from all walks of life. There were quite a few kids too, which I hadn't seen a lot of before then. What was strange though was just about all the adults were drinking. I've noticed that people drink a lot and drink casually in London. They may not drink to get drunk, but quite a few people were drunk too. I know a lot of people were drinking on the trip, but I don't think I'll have that London experience.